Manchester United shared the points in a wild 4 to 4 draw with Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Monday. The result left manager Ruben Amorim frustrated once again.
United thought they had won the game late on. Matheus Cunha scored in the 79th minute to give the hosts a 4 to 3 lead. The joy did not last long. Nineteen year old substitute Eli Junior Kroupi scored in the 84th minute. It was the second time United gave away a lead in the match.
United played some of their best football of the season. Still, they conceded four goals. Amorim admitted lapses in focus are hurting the team.
“It’s really disappointing, we are really disappointed,” Amorim said.
“The result should be completely different. Again, six minutes of the second half, similar to Nottingham (Forest, a 2-2 draw), we lost the concentration, and they score two goals. But we managed to get back to the game, we scored two goals again, and then we have to finish the game.”
United dominated the first half. They fired 17 shots and controlled the play. Bournemouth stayed alive as United failed to finish chances. The visitors punished those mistakes later in the game.
“We dominated and created so many chances. We had to go to halftime with a different result,” Amorim said.
“In the end we deserved more.”
The Portuguese coach said the problem is not about shape or system. He feels the issue lies in the mind.
“(There were) A lot of good things, but a lot of things to work on,” Amorim said.
“We are not winning games sometimes in the details. It’s not because it’s a back four, back three, back five. It’s the details that we need to work, understand the momentum of the game and we need to be clinical.”
Amorim adjusted his usual five man defence for the match. Amad Diallo played higher up the pitch and scored early. He headed in from close range in the 13th minute.
“It was a good performance but we need to be more clinical because created so many chances.”
Diallo said the mood after the match was heavy inside the dressing room.
“You could see straight away in the dressing room, everyone was really disappointed,” Diallo said.
Despite the draw, Amorim believes the team showed signs of progress. He knows results will only change when United learn to manage key moments better.
