Back-to-back losses for Manchester United in the Premier League have sent alarm bells throughout Old Trafford. The Red Devils were in a positive mood under new head coach Rubin Amorim as he oversaw two wins in his first three games in charge. But now the mood has shifted after the team lost 2-0 to Arsenal and 3-2 at home to Nottingham Forest.
While many issues have been pointed out at different areas of the pitch, one central theme in both losses was the team's inability to defend corners. United conceded both goals against Arsenal via corner kicks, and Forest's opener came in the same manner.
Amorim, however, chose to shoulder blame rather than pointing fingers at any of his players (via The Guardian):
“When this happens it is more my fault because I am responsible. We try to do it in the best way – we do a lot of work in this area and we saw it in Arsenal [too]. It is really hard in this context [to come back], we suffer in the first play, it is really hard to put energy back into the game, but we did it [by equalising]. It is really hard to transmit something, for them to continue to do their job. We managed to score one goal."
Manchester United's Set-Piece Problems Laid Bare
Amorim emphasized that, like all other areas of Manchester United’s game, the set piece issue needs time and will be resolved soon. However, this consistent problem can cost the team’s progress as it can be an area where teams will look to inflict damage.
Speaking before the Arsenal game last week Amorim stated that his assistant Carlos Fernandes is in charge of the team’s set piece defending. Former Lillestrom coach Andreas Georgson who joined the club as a set piece coach in the summer will also be helping but will not be the main guy according to Amorim.
Manchester United now sit in 13th place and face Manchester City on Sunday (December 15) who are also determined to get back on track after a recent run of poor results.