Man United’s poor set-piece defending a stumbling block for manager Ruben Amorim

LONDON – Solving Manchester United’s dreadful defending at set pieces has quickly become one of the main priorities for new manager Ruben Amorim, whose best-laid tactical plans have been left in ruins due to his side’s failure to clear the danger at corners.

Nottingham Forest needed just 90 seconds to score from a corner at Old Trafford on Dec 7 as the Red Devils suffered a 3-2 English Premier League loss, and showed Amorim’s side had learnt little from a 2-0 midweek defeat at Arsenal where both goals came from that source.

“When this happens it’s my fault, because I’m responsible. We tried to do it in the best way, we did a lot of work in this area because we saw it in (the) Arsenal (game), and it is really hard,” Amorim said.

“In the beginning of the game (against Forest), you suffer early on the first play. It’s really hard then to put energy in the team, but we managed to draw the game, and then in the second half the same thing happens (with another goal conceded shortly after the break).”

United’s lack of height and power at the back was exposed at free kicks and corners and Amorim rejigged his team in the second half, bringing on centre-back Harry Maguire at 3-2 down in a sign he was worried about conceding again.

“We put Harry Maguire on because of set pieces, to control more who was winning all the first balls. The only way to attack Nottingham was transitions, to try and win first and second balls. When Harry was on the pitch, he won all the first balls,” the United boss added.

However, by then the damage had already been done.

The visitors started the game well with their corner goal. A simple screen had freed up Forest defender Nikola Milenkovic, who brushed off Lisandro Martinez to score.

United forward Rasmus Hojlund scored the equaliser with a tap-in, but Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood showed the Red Devils who were in charge.

United goalkeeper Andre Onana was embarrassed by a swerving Gibbs-White strike for Forest’s second goal while he, Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt all failed to deal with a looping Wood header for the third.

“I don’t want to discredit Onana, he’s a great goalkeeper, an incredible goalkeeper. When I first took the shot I thought, ‘He’s just going to pick it up’ and you know, it went in,” Gibbs-White told Sky Sports.

After Bruno Fernandes pulled one back, Forest then kept the home side at bay to seal the three points for a total haul of 25, six more than United.

“Everybody knows the emphasis on set pieces these days. It’s huge, a big avenue for and against. We did well today,” said the delighted New Zealand striker Wood, who celebrated his 33rd birthday.

Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo added: “I’m very proud of the way we work together, build things together, from the owner to everyone else in the club.

“It’s a moment to celebrate. But for me, I’m thinking about (next week’s match against) Aston Villa.”

Looking ahead, Amorim – who has now overseen his second straight defeat – insisted he would stick to his principles despite his shaky start at Old Trafford.

“We already knew it will be a long journey. But we want to win because this is a massive club. When you lose one game, it is really hard for everybody and I can understand that. I can feel it in the stadium after the first goal,” he said.

“We understand the context. This happens with a lot of clubs and we have to manage to continue doing the same things in improving the team, because this will turn around.” REUTERS, AFP