“Hard on us” – Rueful Amorim tries to explain humbling Man United defeat against Bournemouth

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim found it hard to justify his side’s 0-3 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth, simply citing the ‘tough’ circumstances.

The Red Devils were hoping to build on last weekend’s exhilarating victory over their crosstown rivals Manchester City by making it two in a row in the Premier League for the first time since the Portuguese’s manager arrival.

Alas, they fell miserably short in their quest, as the Cherries returned south with three points in the bag after scoring as many goals.

Dean Huijsen won his aerial duel with Joshua Zirkzee to put the visitors ahead in the 29th minute with an impeccable header from a free-kick.

Ruben Amorim felt the contest was ‘hard’ on Man United players

United were aiming to turn the tide in their favor in the second period, but Noussair Mazraoui gave away a penalty kick, and Justin Kluivert kept his flawless record from the spot intact. Two minutes later, Antoine Semenyo finished off a slick passing movement, and it was all she wrote.

For his part, Amorim felt it was a hard game for his players, referring to the circumstances.

“It’s hard. In this context, it’s hard to push for two or three wins. We’re trying. But this game was hard on us,” said the former Sporting CP coach in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

“Without any situation, we suffered again at set-pieces. We were a little bit nervous here in the stadium.

“We controlled the rest of the first half with some clear chances, and then in the second with the penalty and then another goal is really hard on everyone here.

“We tried to score but in the end, it was a tough match in a tough situation. We need to move on,” concluded the United manager.

The Red Devils’ next contest is an away league clash against Wolves on Boxing Day.