Ruben Amorim's biggest problem at Man Utd is obvious after Bournemouth thrashing

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has suffered a dismal start to life at Old Trafford after losing four of his first nine games in charge. And his biggest problem is obvious, with the Red Devils shipping a staggering 17 goals in that time.

Amorim succeeded Erik ten Hag in the United dugout at the end of last month after the Dutchman had been relieved of his duties.

But the 13-time Premier League champions have leaked goal after goal since the Portuguese coach took the helm.

On Sunday, United produced another dire performance as they were defeated 3-0 by Bournemouth in their final match before Christmas.

The Cherries carved their backline open with ease as Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo struck for the visitors, with the second goal coming from the penalty spot.

In United’s previous match at Old Trafford in early December they conceded three goals in a 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest, and on Thursday evening they were once again punished for their defensive frailties as Tottenham defeated them 4-3 in the Carabao Cup.

At least when Ten Hag was in charge, United looked like they could keep a clean sheet. The Red Devils recorded five in all competitions before the former Ajax boss was given his marching orders.

And if Amorim can’t solve his defensive woes, rival teams will be confident of bagging plenty of goals during matches and securing victories against the Red Devils.

United’s defeat against Bournemouth leaves them 13th in the Premier League table with just six wins after 17 matches.

And after the clash, Amorim explained: “It’s hard to push for two, three wins and we are trying. This game was hard on us. We suffered again on set-pieces and we were a bit nervous, I felt it in the stadium.

“The penalty and another goal are really hard here. We tried to score some goals but it was a tough match so let’s move on. If you look at the game, we were not conceding anything before the first goal, we had opportunities.

“If we manage to score the first goal then the game should be different. We want to score but we are too nervous. We have to fight this.

“After the penalty, we need to control the game better because we know this situation is really hard. We have to control better this moment.

“We have to focus on the job and not what you feel in the stadium. It’s the only way I know how to focus my players. We have to suffer again but we will try to win. We will do it until the end.”