Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said his side had inspired the Old Trafford crowd in a pulsating 4-4 draw against Bournemouth, but must be more ruthless to turn draws into victories.
Three times United led the Cherries on Monday in arguably the best offensive performance of Amorim's reign in charge.
Matheus Cunha netted just his second goal for the club, Bruno Fernandes curled in a brilliant free-kick, and Amad Diallo signed off for the Africa Cup of Nations with the opening goal.
🚨🌍 Rúben Amorim: “Amad and Mbeumo will go for the AFCON now… we will try to find a solution with the players that we have. We are ready to cope”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 16, 2025
“We will try to find a way to score the goals in a different way”. pic.twitter.com/PQejlUNgMW
But United's defensive frailties without the experienced duo of Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt were exposed as they failed to win for the third consecutive home game.
🚨 Rúben Amorim when asked if Man United need to overhaul their defence: “No, I think we have talent in the back”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 16, 2025
“We just need to be better as a team defending”. pic.twitter.com/aTcg0YRB02
The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 at Old Trafford by 10-man Everton last month and also blew the lead in a 1-1 draw against struggling West Ham.
Amorim, though, turned his frustration on the wasted chances during a dominant first half.
"We are really disappointed. Crazy game. It might look like we lost the two points in the second half, but I think we lost them in the first half," said the Portuguese coach.
"Until I'm here, I'm the guy that suffers more"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 15, 2025
Ruben Amorim speaks about handling defeats at Manchester United 🧠 pic.twitter.com/fHDsZLf9fA
"We dominated and created so many chances. We had to go to halftime with a different result.
"In the end we deserved more. It was a fun game for eveyone at home.
"People especially at Old Trafford want to win but they want to be inspired to see a team play good football. We did that well in certain moments.
"It was a good performance but we need to be more clinical because we created so many chances."
A point edges United up to sixth in the Premier League, just two points off the top four.
Amorim's men could be in a far stronger position had they seen out multiple games they were leading this season.
But they also had goalkeeper Senne Lammens to thank for extending a remarkable record of not losing a home league match they were winning at halftime since 1984 as he made two stoppage-time saves from David Brooks.
"Lammens did really well. There were opportunities for both sides but we created more," added Amorim.
"We need to find ways of closing the games because this happened many times.
"That's part of the process. We try to do things the best we can but in some moments it's not enough."