Coach Ruben Amorim was not joking when he said that "the storm will come" to Manchester United. Marcus Rashford, set pieces, missed opportunities, conceding the first goal in matches - Amorim can list many problems of the "Red Devils" at the moment.
However, the biggest concern of the Portuguese strategist will be the result. And after 18 months without losing a home game at the end of his reign at Sporting, he has now suffered two Premier League defeats in three weeks at Old Trafford.
After Nottingham Forest won at Man United's home ground in early December, Bournemouth added Amorim's pain with a 3-0 victory, which was perhaps even more damaging than the loss to Nottingham, when the "Red Devils" came very close to a comeback. Against Bournemouth, they had little reaction and ended with many fans leaving early in extreme disappointment.
"Manchester United, it's happening again" - Bournemouth fans sang at the end of the match. In December last year, Bournemouth also defeated Man United right at Old Trafford with a similar score.
"I felt from the first minute there was a lot of worry. Everyone was suffering in the stadium. Fans, players, everyone. It's a difficult moment but we have to face it and prepare for the next match.
I have a responsibility to coach the players. Of course, we want to improve. At the moment, everything is very difficult when a club like Manchester United loses 0-3 at home. It's really difficult for everyone. And of course, the fans are really disappointed and tired. You can feel it in the stadium," Amorim said after the defeat to Bournemouth.
While the dramatic comeback at the Etihad helped improve Man United's mood, Amorim and his students had to return to earth with 2 consecutive losses against Tottenham and Bournemouth. Spurs scored twice from set-pieces in the 4-3 Carabao Cup win and Bournemouth took less than 30 minutes to do the same.
Like under Erik ten Hag, Man United have yet to overcome the need to concede consecutive goals. They conceded two goals in 20 minutes against Arsenal, two in seven minutes against Nottingham, two in eight minutes against Tottenham and two in three minutes against Bournemouth.
Man United will drop to the bottom half of the rankings on Christmas Day for the first time since 1989. They have tough games against Wolves and Newcastle before the end of 2024.
As Amorim sat in the press room at Old Trafford trying to justify the defeat to Bournemouth, the roof began to leak. This sums up the growing list of problems facing the Man United manager as things start to get tough. The storm has arrived!
