Home   >   MOTDs   >   MOTD: Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United

MOTD: Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United

By on December 12, 2015

Bournemouth and Manchester United might be at opposite ends of the Premier League table yet their seasons have each been defined by backwards trajectories. The Cherries defeated United 2-1 at home today to cap off a delightful week with their second giant killing, leaving United suffering from the perfect storm and their second loss in just five days.  The Red Devils have now won not a single of their last five games in all competitions, having also been dumped out of the Champions League by VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday. Louis Van Gaal’s men travelled to Bournemouth with a depleted squad — their sixth youngest starting-lineup in the Premier League era — yet the Dutchman didn’t borrow himself much sympathy with his comments earlier in the week to say that United should lower their expectations.  
Paddy McNair, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Guillermo Varela and Daley Blind started in United’s back-four, yet it was actually the most experienced defender, Blind who was caught out for Bournemouth’s eventual winner.  

While Bournemouth’s win at Chelsea last-weekend was of the smash-and-grab type, the home side were an ever present threat on the break today.  

Eddie Howe’s men terrorized United from literally the opening minute, with Marouane Fellaini deflecting a low cross narrowly wide with sixty seconds on the clock. Junior Stanislas stepped up to take the corner and whipping in a searching, far-post ball. It originally a appeared to be veering high and wide, but the curling ball lofted nicely down off David De Gea’s outstretched palm and into the back of the net off the post at the top right corner. In the wake of Bournemouth’s injury crisis Stanislas has stepped up to score three goals in his last two home games and has been involved in four in Bournemouth’s last four matches in all competitions. Although the home side kept much of the ball, United pounced on their mistakes.

First Fellaini tested Artur Boruc with a low effort from close range and the goalkeeper did a fantastic job to tip away Michael Carrick’s follow-up. Anthony Martial was sent racing through on goal after Stanislas was dispossessed in the eighteenth minute, only to poke a low shot inches wide of the target.
Stanislas almost had another on the break, but De Gea was quick to come off his line and snuff out the danger.  

United began to get restless in search of an equalizer and Fellaini’s presence saw them adopt a more direct style. It was indeed the Belgian who eventually bagged their equalizer, poking home a scrappy effort after Boruc saved Memphis Depay’s volley.

Yet Bournemouth bit back on the other side of the break, however, as Joshua King peeled away from Blind in a perfectly worked corner-routine to guide the ball home from ten yards out. Glenn Murray, the hero at Chelsea, nearly added a third yet skied the ball over from six yards.

Van Gaal made the same changes he did as Wolfsburg earlier in the week to similar avail. Nick Powell came on whilst Morgan Schneiderlin and Ashley Young sat the bench and United lacked coherence and organization in the final few minutes. 
Per the BBC, it was only United’s thirteenth ever loss against a newly promoted side and Cherries’ supporters drew pride from their unstoppable rise through English football, without hastening to remind United that they “come from League Two”.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.