Manchester United suffered a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, while Chelsea missed the chance to go top of the Premier League after a 0-0 draw at Everton on Sunday.
United boss Ruben Amorim, who once again left Marcus Rashford out of his squad, faces a miserable Christmas following the worst result of his brief tenure.
Languishing in 13th place, United have endured four defeats in nine matches across all competitions since Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.
United’s second successive loss, following their League Cup exit at Tottenham on Thursday, underscored Amorim’s admission that their road back to the top will be long and arduous.
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Having conceded first in their last six games, United were booed off at half-time, while the final whistle was greeted by more jeers from the few fans who stayed until the bitter end.
While it is too early to pass judgement on Amorim, the Portuguese coach cannot afford many more results like this if he is to maintain the support of players and fans.
Amorim’s decision to exclude Rashford for the third consecutive game will come under fresh scrutiny after United’s dismal performance.
Surprisingly, Amorim left the 27-year-old England forward out of the squad for United’s win at Manchester City last weekend, prompting Rashford to hint at a desire for a “new challenge”.
Rashford was present at Old Trafford in a United tracksuit amid his extended exile, as Amorim made six changes to the side beaten 4-3 by Tottenham in the League Cup quarter-finals.
United’s vulnerability at set-pieces was exposed again in the 29th minute when Bournemouth’s teenage defender Dean Huijsen capitalised on poor marking at a free-kick to glance a header past Andre Onana.
Things worsened for Amorim in the second half as Justin Kluivert doubled fifth-placed Bournemouth’s lead with a 61st-minute penalty after Noussair Mazraoui fouled the forward.
Antoine Semenyo compounded United’s misery two minutes later, coolly finishing from Dango Ouattara’s pass.
Punch
