Manchester United will spend Christmas in the bottom half of the Premier League table after a miserable defeat to Bournemouth.
Just days after crashing out of the Carabao Cup to Tottenham, Manchester United tasted defeat again with Bournemouth claiming a 3-0 win at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim’s record as United head coach now stands at four victories, one draw and four defeats. The Red Devils will return to action on Boxing Day when they travel to Wolves.
Six changes were made to the starting lineup that lost 4-3 to Tottenham midweek, with Joshua Zirkzee starting up front and Andre Onana returning in goal after Altay Bayindir’s horror show against Spurs.
Noussair Mazraoui kept his spot in the side but had an afternoon to forget against the Cherries.
Noussair Mazraoui struggles for Man United vs Bournemouth
Mazraoui started as a wing-back against Spurs but he returned to a centre-back role on Sunday afternoon.
Despite being thrown into different roles, Mazraoui has been superb under Amorim and has easily been the best signing of the summer.
Signing Mazraoui for £13m was a bargain for United and he has hardly put a foot wrong since his move from Bayern Munich. Sadly, his performance against Bournemouth was easily his worst in a United shirt.
Mazraoui hardly had an impact going forward and was beaten several times in defence. He took 45 touches of the ball and lost possession eight times.
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Touches | 45 |
| Passes completed | (84%) 27/32 |
| Possession lost | 8 |
| Duels won | (63%) 5/8 |
| Penalties conceded | 1 |
Noussair Mazraoui ‘crazy’ moment vs Bournemouth
Not only was Mazraoui poor in open play, but the penalty conceded in the second half really put the game out of sight for United.
Just moments before the hour mark, Mazraoui dived in to try and challenge Justin Kluivert after he was beaten out wide.
It was a clumsy tackle and referee Craig Pawson immediately pointed to the spot.
Via Sky Sports, Darren Ambrose said: “This was crazy…he has cleaned him out.”
It was an uncharacteristically rash decision from Mazraoui, who has often been calm and composed for United in defence.
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