Manchester United faced Bournemouth in the Premier League, and came into the match, sitting rather uncomfortably in 6th position in the league table. The Red Devils had to win to keep their hopes of a Champions League spot intact.
In a rather ill-tempered match, it was Manchester United who took the lead in the 23rd minute, courtesy of Marcos Rojo’s first Premier League strike. He directed a miss-hit Valencia shot into the net following a set piece routine.
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However, it did not take long for Bournemouth to make a comeback and equalise with a finely taken Joshua King’s penalty in the 40th minute. The Cherries were then reduced to 10 men after Andrew Surman was shown his second yellow.
Ibrahimovic could not make the most of his reprieve as the excellent Artur Boruc saved his 72nd-minute penalty and Jose Mourinho's sixth-placed side missed out on the chance to go fourth.
Let’s take a look at how the player’s fared in this intensely fought match.
Manchester United
David de Gea: 6/10
David de Gea had a rather quiet day as he was not called into action much, especially after Bournemouth were reduced to 10 men. Even for King’s penalty, there was not much he could have done to stop it from going in.
Antonio Valencia: 6.5/10
This was again a typical Antonio Valencia performance. He was all over the right flank as he defended resolutely and was full of energy when moving up the flank. His end product, though, could have been better.
Phil Jones: 4.5/10
Returning from the injury, he looked absolutely out of depth against the Cherries. He was at fault for Bournemouth’s first goal as it was him who had conceded the penalty. He struggled throughout the match.
Luke Shaw: 6/10
He offered an outlet on the left of United’s attack and was decent in defence. However, he was substituted late in the game in favour of more attacking players.
Marcos Rojo: 6.5/10
Scored Manchester United’s only goal of the match and was very solid in defence. Although he did struggle a bit against the physicality of Afobe, he kept his own in crunch situations and came out on top on most occasions.
Michael Carrick: 6/10
Michael Carrick’s game was full of guile and intelligence. He distributed the ball well, broke down the opponent’s counter attacks and made a few interceptions. He was the general of United’s midfield and controlled the game for them.
Paul Pogba: 4/10
If Carrick’s game was effectual but less flashy, then Paul Pogba’s game was absolutely opposite to that of the veteran. He missed a few chances to fire his team into the lead and his distribution was also poor.
Juan Mata: 5/10
He was decent in attack for the Red Devils but lacked the edge at the crucial time and didn’t put in quality deliveries. He will rue that he missed his chance to show Mourinho that he deserves a place in United’s first eleven in the absence of Mkhitaryan.
Wayne Rooney: 5/10
Wayne Rooney’s age seems to have caught up with him. He was slow and wasteful in the final third. He squared a ball to Ibrahimovic in the first half, a chance which the Swede uncharacteristically squandered
Anthony Martial: 7/10
He probably was the best United player over the course of the game. He wreaked havoc on the right side of Bournemouth’s defence but unfortunately, could not fire his side into the lead
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 3/10
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have nightmares about this performance for many nights to come. He missed a crucial penalty and failed to score in the allotted 90 minutes. He was even lucky to have been on the pitch in the second half after he elbowed Tyrone Mings.
Substitutes
Jesse Lingard: 5/10
Lingard was unable to affect the game much after coming on late in the game.
Marcus Rashford: 5.5/10
The youngster went on a few interesting runs and troubled the Cherries, but could not affect the game and it’s outcome much.
Marouane Fellaini: 5/10
Fellaini too was brought on late in the game to bring more height and physicality to the game but did not affect the result.
Bournemouth
Artur Boruc: 9/10
A great performance from the former Polish international, he made a few impressive saves to keep Ibrahimovic and company at bay for long periods of the game. He would be disappointed to have conceded the goal but nonetheless, this performance of his was one of the best goalkeeping displays seen at Old Trafford.
Adam Smith: 6.5/10
He struggled a bit initially but once the game wore on, he got more and more comfortable on the right side. Although he did gift the penalty to the home side, his goalkeeper saved te day.
Steve Cook: 7.5/10
A good performance from the Cherries defender as he marshalled the defence superbly. He defended with guile kept his side in the game despite being reduced to ten men.
Tyrone Mings: 6/10
He along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic should have been sent off in the first half and was lucky to have stayed on the pitch. However, his stamp on Ibrahimovic did seem to have rattled him as he did not contribute much for the rest of the game.
Charle Daniels: 8/10
Daniels put in a great performance as he was constantly in the way of Ibrahimovic and company, keeping them at bay for a majority of the game. He made a string of important clearances throughout the match.
Harry Arter: 5.5/10
Arter remained combative throughout the match and had a chance to win his side all three points towards the end of the match. He was lucky not to have been sent off in the second half for a second yellow card after putting in a strong challenge on Pogba.
Ryan Fraser: 7/10
Fraser made quite a few surging runs throughout the match and troubled United’s defence. His defensive duty was even more impressive as he covered his flank well and did not give united’s attackers much joy.
Marc Pugh: 6/10
It was his driving run into the box that won Bournemouth a penalty from which they eventually equalised. However, he was taken off at half-time as the Cherries were reduced to ten men.
Andrew Surman: 4/10
Surman’s only noteworthy contribution to the match was when he was sent off for two yellows after pushing Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Joshua King: 7/10
It was an impressive performance from the forward as he made a few lung-bursting runs to ease the pressure on his side. He kept his cool and equalised for his side from the spot to give a valuable point for Bournemouth.
Benik Afobe: 6/10
Afobe constantly troubled the United backline with his physicality, pace and held up the ball well for his teammates. However, he did lack sharpness in the opposition’s penalty box.
Substitutes
Baily Cargill: 6/10
Cargill was brought on in place of Mings late in the game and did well to keep his side in the game.
Dan Gosling: 7/10
He was brought on at half-time to shore things up in midfield after the Cherries went a man down, and he did exactly that. He added steel in the middle of the park and kept his own against his more illustrious opponents.
Max Gradel: N/A
Was brought on late in the game and didn’t make a telling contribution.
