Bournemouth prodigy Dean Huijsen scored the first goal for Bournemouth in the 29th minute through a set piece. Ryan Christie took a free kick from outside the box, and Huijsen was in the right place to nod it home. It was the 9th time Manchester United conceded from a set-piece situation in the Premier League this season.

Manchester United had a couple of late chances in stoppage time during the first half through Bruno Fernandes. Fernandes shot from inside the box in the 42nd minute after a pass by Amad Diallo, but Kepa Arrizabalaga stood his ground to deny the Manchester United captain. Two minutes later, he came close again, this time receiving a pass from Kobbie Mainoo outside the box, but he shot wide.

Things got worse for Manchester United 15 minutes after the restart when the referee pointed to the spot after Noussair Mazraoui brought Justin Kluivert down in the box. Kluivert stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, giving Bournemouth a two-goal advantage.

Antoine Semenyo wrapped up the win for Bournemouth, ensuring all three points after a breakaway goal. Ouattara drove to the byline, cut the ball back for Semenyo inside the box, which he fired home.

It was a very disappointing performance from Manchester United, and the team received a lot of backlash from the media, including ex-players who turned pundits. A notable one is former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who expressed dissatisfaction with the performance: “Very disappointing. Too many mistakes. It doesn’t really look like a team. They had chances at the end of the first half but didn’t take them, and then it goes 2-0 and 3-0.”

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim admitted his side’s poor form and vulnerability through set pieces: “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. Without any situation, we suffered again at set-pieces. We were a little bit nervous, the stadium.”

When asked if he plans to change the set-piece coach, Carlos Fernandes, he said Carlos wasn’t to blame: “The person in charge is me. It’s not Carlos. We are a team in good times and bad. We have our way of doing things. We will improve. We don’t lose because of set pieces. We lose because we don’t convert our chances.”

Manchester United is 13th in the Premier League with only 6 wins from 17 games and a negative goal difference. Manchester United will spend Christmas in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time.