Ruben Amorim insists Manchester United’s set-piece struggles are ‘my fault’

Ruben Amorim refused to blame his defence and instead insisted it was “my fault” after Manchester United conceded Nottingham Forest’s first goal from a corner in the visitors’ 3-2 win at Old Trafford.

Nikola Milenkovic’s second-minute header came after Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs de Ligt failed to challenge the defender, with United’s goalkeeper, André Onana, also stationary.

Both Arsenal’s goals in Wednesday’s 2–0 defeat of United also came corners. Amorim was reminded that Milenkovic’s goal was the third consecutive one allowed from the set piece. The manager was asked if the defence, his coaches or himself were responsible.

He said: “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.”

This was Rasmus Højlund’s 18th-minute finish but Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal two minutes into the second half was followed by Chris Wood’s on 54 minutes and United could not find a second equaliser after Bruno Fernandes reduced the deficit.

Amorim’s Premier League record is two defeats, a win and a loss, for a yield of four points. He previously lost a home league match in February 2023, with Sporting Lisbon, and the 39-year-old was asked how he would handle the run of form.

“I had this and worse in Sporting in the beginning,” Amorim said. “The feeling for me is the same but for the world it’s completely different. You know Sporting in Portugal but Manchester [United] has a lot of attention [globally] but for me it’s the same feeling.

“I had this period at Sporting and if you are a little experienced in football this happens with a lot of clubs and we have to manage to continue to do the same things and improve the team because this will turn around. We need time and to continue to work in the same way every day.

“We already knew [it would be tough]. It will be a long journey but we want to win because this is a massive club. You feel it, when you lose one game it’s really hard for everybody. I can understand that. I can feel it in the stadium after the first goal. We understand the context but we have to keep doing the same things. The same words I have with Everton [after winning 4-0], I have today: focus on the performance. We need to improve in a lot of aspects of the game and continue to do the same things tomorrow in training.”

This was Forest’s first win at Old Trafford since 17 December 1994, leaving Nuno Espírito Santo particularly pleased. “It means a lot, it is a huge – this club has been away for so long from big moments,” the manager said.