Ruben Amorim laments costly Manchester United mistake that “killed” them in 2-0 loss vs. Arsenal | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has lamented his team’s failure to be more aggressive during Arsenal’s set-pieces as the main reason for their 2-0 loss vs. Arsenal.

Arsenal defenders Jurrien Timber and William Saliba both scored from corner kicks in the second half to sink United and hand Amorim his first loss as United boss.

The result has left United in 11th position in the Premier League table, with just 19 points gained from a possible 42.

Against Arsenal, United didn’t manage to win even one corner-kick. The hosts, on the other hand, had 19 of them and looked incredibly dangerous on almost every single occasion.

After the final whistle, Amorim spoke to BBC Match of the Day and had his say on his team’s performance and the result at the Emirates.

The 39-year-old coach said, “The set pieces changed the game. We could’ve been more aggressive towards the Arsenal box.”

“Until the set pieces the game didn’t have too many opportunities for both sides, the set pieces killed the game.”

“They can put a lot of players near the goalkeeper and it’s almost impossible to fight for the ball but we have to manage to defend them and we already know we have to be better.”

He added, “We were committed and we lost to the set pieces. If Matthijs [de Ligt] can score in that moment the momentum would be different.”

“We tried to play but they are a very organised team and it’s hard to score.

“I felt the players were in control of the game, the set pieces changed the game in the second half.”

Up next for United is Nottingham Forest on Sunday at Old Trafford. The match kicks off at 17:30 GMT.

Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images

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