Lisandro Martinez described himself as “so angry” with Manchester United’s major problems in scoring goals and conceding from set-pieces after Bournemouth won 3-0 at Old Trafford.
The Cherries replicated their impressive win on the same ground last season thanks to a header from Dean Huijsen, a Justin Kluivert penalty and a low finish from Antoine Semenyo.
The result means United will be in the bottom half of the league table at Christmas for the first time in the Premier League era, with new head coach Ruben Amorim having now overseen four defeats in their past six games in all competitions. The sense of embarrassment for the hosts was only increased when Amorim’s post-match press conference was interrupted by the ceiling leaking onto journalists below.
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In reality, United were once more undone by their own errors as much as their opponents’ brilliance. The Red Devils had 23 shots to Bournemouth’s 10, seven of which were on target, while they ended the game with 2.26 expected goals to the visitors’ 1.24.
They also controlled 60 per cent of the possession and missed all four of the big chances they created, according to data from Fotmob.
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They found themselves a goal down when Huijsen glanced on a simple free-kick delivery into the box, underlining their frailty when facing set-pieces. United conceded three similar goals against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, and Son Heung-min scored directly from a corner in their Carabao Cup defeat at Tottenham this week.
The game was then killed off in two second-half minutes, Kluivert converting a penalty after a senseless challenge from Noussair Mazraoui, and Semenyo finishing from a swift counter that came after United twice lost possession in midfield within a minute.
Martinez made it clear that he is sick and tired of them conceding soft goals and failing to take their chances.
Lisandro Martinez ‘so angry’ with glaring Man United weaknesses
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “I always say in this kind of situation we have to show personality and character. We are playing so well and unfortunately, we couldn’t score today. We have to believe. At this club, we have to win every game and we know that.
“We are so angry with this kind of situation. We have to work on set-pieces, especially. I believe a lot in this team and staff. If they don’t score their first goal from [the] set-piece, then it is a totally different game.
“We missed many chances today. We have to score. We know what we have to do and we have to change quickly. We know how big it is at this club. The expectation is very high, it’s a process and you can see we are playing so well, but we also concede goals and we have to work on that. I know the fans are impatient with us. We are the only ones who can change it.
“We are 100 percent confident that we will get success in this club. It’s a process, I don’t want to point the finger at one player. We win together, we lose together. It is a big pressure, but we love that. I believe a lot in this group.”
