As Ruben Amorim spoke to the media after Manchester United were beaten at home by Bournemouth on Sunday, water began dripping from the roof of the Old Trafford auditorium.
Leaks have been appearing everywhere at United lately, be it in the stadium, in Amorim’s selections or, most worrying of all, in their defence.
If there was a sense of deja vu about Bournemouth winning here 3-0 before Christmas again, seeing United concede the first goal from another set-piece felt even more familiar.
Only Wolves have a worse record than United, who have conceded nine goals from free-kicks or corners in the league this season and 17 times in total in 2024. That is a club record and there are still two more games left: against Wolves. at Molineux on Boxing Day and at home to Newcastle on December 30.
Perhaps most worrying of all for United is that their defensive problems have only worsened under new manager Ruben Amorim, who has insisted on playing a back three since taking charge in November.
Amorim has the highest ratio of goals (and set-piece goals) conceded per game of any United manager in the Premier League era.
Rubén Amorim’s efforts to shore up Man United’s defense have so far been unsuccessful
United currently have the second-worst defensive record in the league, behind only Wolves.
The club’s weaknesses in defending set pieces were once again exposed in the defeat against Bournemouth
In Amorim’s defense, he parachuted in mid-season to improve a situation that was not his, using players he had not signed.
United’s most expensive summer purchase, £59m Leny Yoro, has recently recovered from a metatarsal fracture, Tyrell Malacia is recovering from an 18-month layoff, Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof have collapsed on their returns, Harry Maguire was out of action for almost two months and Matthijs de Ligt missed the defeats to Spurs and Bournemouth through illness.
But the teething problems experienced under Amorim and weaknesses at the back are beginning to cause concern as United suffer the embarrassment of being in the bottom half of the table at Christmas for the first time in 35 years.
In fact, 13th place after six league games (and three defeats) for the Portuguese is only one place better than when Erik ten Hag was sacked in October.
This is no longer simply a bad start. The game against Newcastle will mark the halfway point of the season as United fight to avoid falling further than last season, when Ten Hag’s eighth-place finish was United’s worst in the Premier League era.
Ten Hag’s team had a goal difference of minus one and United now find themselves in the same situation, having struggled to score at one end and keep them out at the other.
Amorim feels a nervousness when playing from the back and a fragility that saw both Spurs and Bournemouth score goals in quick succession, a problem that also affected Ten Hag.
“Two goals very quickly, like against Tottenham,” he said. “You want to respond but you can’t because you concede another goal and then we suffer until the end of the game. One of our objectives is to remain calm when you concede a goal.”
Set pieces have become a particular concern, with United conceding a league-high 41 percent of them this season.
Amorim’s number 2, Carlos Fernandes, is tasked with finding a solution to its vulnerabilities.
United’s backline has also suffered injuries, and only recently welcomed summer signing Leny Yoro.
Amorim has taken responsibility for set pieces from first-team coach Andreas Georgson, who was hired by Ten Hag in the summer, and given it to his number 2, Carlos Fernandes.
In each corner or free kick, both in attack and defense, Amorim and Fernandes will exchange places in the technical area like clockwork, as if they were two figures in a meteorological house. But the situation has only gotten worse, as United have conceded five goals from set pieces in Amorim’s six games at a rate of 0.83. In all competitions, set pieces have led to goals seven times in six games.
As with every match under the new Portuguese coaching team, United players huddled in the penalty area during Sunday’s warm-up and practiced defending Bruno Fernandes’ set pieces.
However, United held on for less than half an hour when young Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen rose to head in Ryan Christie’s free-kick.
It doesn’t help that Amorim has rotated his lineup and back three to try to keep players fresh and get his ideas across, or that United haven’t been blessed with great height when Yoro or Maguire don’t have it. play.
“All aspects are worrying, especially the set pieces,” Amorim admitted. ‘We are training on that and we have to improve. There are many teams that are very strong in this, so we are working a lot on it. We don’t have much time to explain it but we will try.
“Nothing bad lasts forever and nothing good lasts forever, that’s why we must be very strong in our ideas, especially in bad times.”