Dimitar Berbatov shared a “major concern” about Manchester United following a dramatic draw against Bournemouth on Monday night.
It was another case of two points dropped for Manchester United, despite moving up to sixth in the Premier League.
United’s 4-4 draw with Bournemouth came with disappointment. The brilliant attacking football on display was overshadowed by abysmal defending from Ruben Amorim’s side.
Matheus Cunha scored United’s fourth goal in the 79th minute, but Bournemouth equalised for the third time through Junior Kroupi five minutes later in what was an eight-goal thriller at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim has praised Man Utd’s attacking football vs Bournemouth
How differently do you feel about this performance, compared to the 1-1 draw vs West Ham?
Amorim was forced to make changes at the back due to Noussair Mazraoui’s absence, and it didn’t help that key defensive personnel were injured. That meant Leny Yoro returned to the backline along with Ayden Heaven and Luke Shaw.
The result has led to reactions from several pundits, with former club captain Gary Neville worried about United’s record at home.
Dimitar Berbatov raises questions about Man Utd’s defence
One of the biggest changes on Monday night saw Amorim tinker with his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.
Amorim had suggested in recent weeks that United were working on adapting their tactical approach in the wake of losing key players like Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo to the Africa Cup of Nations.
This led to a report from The Athletic before the game against Bournemouth indicating that Amorim told his players in a meeting last Sunday to expect a change after the 4-1 win over Wolves.
However, former United striker Dimitar Berbatov was not impressed with United’s defending against Bournemouth and believes it is an area of concern for Amorim’s side.
“Amad [Diallo] is not a defender but he is forced to play almost as a wing-back at times,” Berbatov told ESPN.
“Yoro and Heaven, players with great futures probably, but still inexperienced. [Two of the goals conceded] are a lack of understanding and anticipating the game.
“When you don’t have pace anymore in the middle of the park, and you have someone [on the opposing team] with more mobility and pace, they will overpower you. It will lead to danger.
“For United, major, major questions are again in the air. How can we stop leaking goals? Even when we play with five at the back, we leak easy goals.
“If I knew the answer I’d be the manager of United, probably!
“Everybody is hoping the solution to this question will be found in the near future. Because dropping points, when the championship finishes, you will be far from first place where you want to be.
“As a team, as a system, as players they need to be better on the ball, and when they don’t have the ball tactically. This comes from making mistakes and learning from it. Learn more quickly, when you are a young player.”
Senne Lammens saved Man Utd at the end vs Bournemouth
How would you rate his overall performance?
Berbatov added: “The major concern is how to defend compact and not let in easy goals, because we have the quality up-front to score goals and create chances.
“But, [being] compact at the back must work better.”
Dimitar Berbatov verdict on ‘crazy’ Bournemouth draw
United missed the chance to move to fifth in the table.
Berbatov, who won the Premier League twice at United, went on to slam the players for dropping points in games they should be winning with Bournemouth being the latest example after scoring four goals.
“It was a crazy, crazy game,” Berbatov said.
“This is the problem nowadays. United drop points easily, concede goals easily.
“When they get the lead, the defence isn’t doing their job properly.
“A couple of the goals went through the middle where we had very young players, Heaven and Yoro. Still, it was not good enough.
“When you get the lead at Old Trafford, you need to hold it.”
He added: “The first half was brilliant for them. The second half was a different story and they were lucky not to concede a fifth goal in the 96th minute. It was a great save from the goalkeeper.”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
