Manchester United fans made their feelings clear on Kobbie Mainoo after Bournemouth inflicted a crushing 3-0 Premier League defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Devils were dumped out of the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Thursday evening after a 4-3 defeat to Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Manchester United were unable to return to winning ways and the Red Devils were blown out of the water by a stunning performance from Bournemouth.
Ruben Amorim’s men once again showed vulnerability from set pieces in the first half after Dean Huijsen fired in a header from Ryan Christie’s free-kick.
United were left chasing the match in the second half and the Red Devils suffered another major setback after Bournemouth secured a penalty.
Noussair Mazraoui brought down Justin Kluivert with a reckless tackle in the box before the Bournemouth attacker scored past Andre Onana from the spot-kick.
Ruben Amorim’s woes piled on further only two minutes after the penalty, with Antoine Semenyo burying Bournemouth’s third from close range.
Mainoo disappoints for Man Utd against Bournemouth
Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League table and the Red Devils are now nine points adrift from the top four after 17 league matches played.
Ruben Amorim was forced to watch on from the Old Trafford dugout as United offered very little as an attacking threat amid the superb Bournemouth performance.
Kobbie Mainoo started the match alongside Manuel Ugarte in the heart of midfield and the United midfielder saw out the full 90 minutes of the 3-0 defeat.
The 19-year-old United midfielder was widely praised for his breakout season in the 2023-24 campaign, but Mainoo has struggled to perform this season.
Mainoo missed a run of matches in October and November before returning from injury, with the United star appearing a shadow of his former self.
The Stockport-born midfielder produced a poor showing against Bournemouth and left the defence and midfield exposed with his underwhelming display.
Mainoo was also at fault for Bournemouth’s third after his chipped pass was intercepted and the Cherries instantly hit United on the counterattack.
Man Utd fans react to Mainoo’s performance vs Bournemouth
United fans on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, pulled no punches towards Mainoo after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
One Red Devils supporter says that Mainoo has shown he is “limited,” while another fan said that Amorim must bring back the Ugarte and Casemiro pivot “ASAP.”
A user on X wrote: “Mainoo isn’t it, bro, we’re beginning to see that he’s limited, too. He’s also not a CM, preferably a [No] 10 or something.”
Another said: “Mainoo [is] looking totally off [in the] last few matches. Gave away the ball for the penalty and for the third goal. Also losing the ball [resulted] in [Manuel] Ugarte’s yellow card. Doesn’t seem like the player from last year.”
“Kobbie Mainoo is also an issue for this team. He has been shocking this season,” someone else commented.
While a fourth tweeted: “Mainoo doesn’t even start every [match] but [he] still looks tired 60 [minutes] into the game. A game every [three or four] days should not be an excuse since he is not even 20 years [old].”
“Truth be told [is that] Casemiro will be more useful to the team now than Mainoo,” a fifth posted.
Somebody else added: “Benching Mainoo for Casemiro is also essential… that guy is off form ever since he came back from that injury.”
A seventh fan suggested: “Our midfield should be Ugarte and Casemiro. This system demands hard workers, not Mainoo and [Christian] Eriksen. Amorim get this [changed] ASAP.”
And an eighth argued: “Mainoo should be nowhere near the starting 11. He’s been absolutely awful this season. So lazy, so poor defensively. The thing about Amorim that infuriates me [is the] Ugarte-Casemiro pivot was the best thing about Ruud [van Nistelrooy]’s team. Why did he change it?!”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
