Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United: Player Ratings

Former Manchester United academy player Joshua King scored the winner for Bournemouth

An injury-hit Manchester United were dealt another big blow to their title credentials as a 54th minute strike from ex-United player Josh King proved to be the difference between the two sides at the end of the ninety minutes. If last week’s victory over Chelsea counted as the biggest scalp in Bournemouth’s history, Saturday’s performance at Dean Court wouldn't fall too far behind as they ran out 2-1 winners over Manchester United.

A glorious seven days for The Cherries have seen them beat Chelsea and now Manchester United, albeit an injury-hit one, to propel them up the table and four places off the danger zone. Bournemouth now occupy 14th spot on the table, ahead of defending champions, Chelsea. The result meanwhile sees the Red Devils stuck in 4th place, but now with a chance of being overtaken by Spurs, who play Newcastle on Sunday.

Eddie Howe’s men went in front in sensational fashion as Junior Stanislas gave them an early lead in the second minute of the game as his swerving corner caught David De Gea off guard and curled into the top left hand corner of the goal. Manchester United took about twenty minutes to finally respond. A delightful crossfield ball from Michael Carrick was met by an equally adept Memphis Depay, who brought the ball down on his chest sublimely. The Dutchman wasn’t able to score because of a combination of a poor effort on his part and brilliance from Artur Boruc. But he did enough to trigger a melee in front of the Cherries’ goal which eventually lead to Marouane Fellaini plodding the ball into the back of the net.

However, the final chapter of this story was written by the ex-Manchester United trainee Josh King, whose liveliness throughout the game finally paid off with the winning goal in the second-half. Here are the player ratings from the game:

Bournemouth

Artur Boruc (9/10): Did everything in his power to give Bournemouth the chance to win this one. The Polish stretched every sinew to produce a world class double save to keep Marouane Fellaini and Paddy McNair out two minutes after Stanislas had gives the hosts an invaluable lead. Boruc was unlucky with the goal he conceded, as he had pulled off another brilliant effort to stave off Memphis Depay’s initial shot.

Adam Smith (6.5/10): He was targeted time and again in the first half with cross-field balls as Memphis Depay’s movement and speed gave him fits. He could be held partially responsible for Manchester United’s goal as he lost track of Memphis’ whereabouts. Smith became comfortable as the game wore on and began to offer a threat down the Bournemouth right in the second-half.

Simon Francis (8/10): Put in a determined performance at the heart of the host’s defence. Francis put in some crucial stops and could have easily found himself on the scoresheet on the back of some of his buccaneering runs upfield. (8/10)

Steve Cook (7.5/10): Put in a great shift alongside Francis to help keep Martial quiet throughout the ninety minutes. Another man who deserves all the applause he garnered for a tremendous effort that helped the Cherries get all three points at the end of the day.

Charlie Daniels (7/10): Probably the least troubled amongst the Bournemouth back four. But, he did his job with distinction, the most notable amongst them was a crucial flicked header at the far post in the early goings, to put off Lingard, who was sizing up a volley.

Matt Ritchie (6.5/10): Was largely a low-key figure in the game. However, he got the crucial touch that lead to the second and decisive goal for the hosts.

Harry Arter (8/10): His industrious nature was the indicative difference between the two sides. His fervour at the middle of the park gave the visitors no time to settle on the ball. He ran all across the pitch to help out the backline as well as instigating the blueprint going forward. Arter could have easily found his name in the assists column after playing in Stanislas one on one via a lovely through ball.

Andrew Surman (7.5/10): Put in a great shift alongside Arter, making up the second part of a sturdy spine that Eddie Howe has been able to instill in his side. A true blue-collar effort from the midfielder, who helped nullify any influence Mata could have had in this one.

Dan Gosling(7/10): The man with the license to roam about farthest amongst the midfield three in Bournemouth’s rank. Didn’t get his name on to the papers for this game but his ever-present influence in the game was truly felt.

Junior Stanislas (8/10): Gave the hosts a vital lead in the opening minutes. His raids down the left flank helped the home side establish an attacking presence.

Josh King (9/10): It was not only his goal that caught the eye. He was brilliant throughout the game. Came in short to hold the ball up a number of times and helped create avenues for the Cherries to go forward by running the channels. He gave United’s makeshift back line all that they could handle.

Subs

Glenn Murray (5/10): Probably and rather should have put the game beyond the reach of the visitors. Murray found himself at the end of two glorious opportunities but managed to spurn them both.

Eunan O'Kane (NA): Was brought in the last five minutes to give Bournemouth a fresh pair of legs and see them to victory.

Manchester United

David De Gea (6/10): An uncharacteristic error from the Spaniard helped Bournemouth take the lead. The normally sure-handed man from Madrid was deceived by a swerving corner that nestled into the far left-hand corner, completely catching De Gea by surprise.The rest of the ninety was, however, a much better display from the United number one as he made his presence felt with a couple of brilliant saves.

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (6/10): The only one in the backline who can really hold his head up after the ninety. Rarely looked out his depth or wet behind his ears as the eighteen-year-old helped nullify the threat of Matt Ritchie down the Bournemouth right.

Daley Blind (5.5/10): The most experienced amongst the back four failed to really inspire his comrades. Neither did he himself step up when things got difficult.

Paddy McNair (5/10): His performance was anything but calm or composed. He had a torrid time as Josh King thrived on his indecisiveness and lack of experience at this level.

Guillermo Varela (4/10): Looked out of sorts up against Stanilas who took the youngster for a ride the whole of the ninety minutes. No doubt, the Uruguayan was thrown into the deep end in this one due to Manchester United’ s injury issues. But, one would expect much more from the 22-year old.

Michael Carrick (6.5/10): The only midfielder in a white jersey that had any telling effect on the game. Carrick helped carve out opportunities for the visitors with his cross-field balls and helped Manchester United keep the lion’s share of the possession.

Marouane Fellaini (6.5/10): He provided great zeal in the middle of the field, but failed when it came to execution. His tenacity and willingness to get into the box helped Manchester United draw level.

Juan Mata (4.5/10): Anonymous for large parts of the game. Never could find his niche in this one, despite playing in his favorite number 10 role.

Memphis Depay (6.5/10): Gave Smith fits with his purposeful running during the early part of the game. His influence on the game diminished as it wore on.

Jese Lingard (6/10): Forced off with a pull to hamstring after half an hour to add to United's misery. In the half an hour he played, was largely uninfluential.

Anthony Martial (6/10): He looks like a forward who needs a goal to get his mojo running again. Got very little joy out of the Bournemouth backline owing to a lack of confidence and decisiveness on his part. Even the couple of times he managed to break free, he spurned both his chances.