Manchester United 2-1 AFC Bournemouth: 5 Talking Points & Analysis

Manchester United scrapped through a winner in the injury time as Marcus Rashford scored in the 92nd minute to restore some parity and bag three points from a difficult match for Jose Mourinho’s team. AFC Bournemouth were mightily impressive in the first half as they worked their socks off to not let United gain any momentum.

They pressed high, passed the ball with confidence and created goal-scoring chances in abundance to regularly trouble United’s backline. Eddie Howe must be fuming with the number of chances that the Cherries missed in the first 45 minutes. Perhaps, the 1-1 scoreline was flattering for the Red Devils at halftime but they developed and were miles better in the second portion of the game.

They dominated through incision and sheer ruggedness, eventually pushing Howe’s team behind. A winner was deserved, but it simply did not seem plausible until Paul Pogba dropped a shoulder, hugged the touchline and delivered a peach of a cross from his left foot which Rashford finished after an initial turmoil. The match is discussed in details below:

#5 AFC Bournemouth came up with a classy statement

Ahead of the match, Bournemouth’s skipper Simon Francis was surprisingly quite critical and vocal regarding his team’s chances from this game.

He said, “The form book would say we might be favourites going into the game. I don’t think we see it as a free hit anymore, these kinds of games, because we believe we can beat them.

We will be at it from the start, pressing high and trying to win the ball back to give the fans something to get excited about.”

Francis’ team stuck true to their words as they took on United as their peers and were regularly breaching their backline and putting the David de Gea into pressure. Bournemouth were excellent in the first half hour, as they recovered possession, exchanged quick passes, passed it out wide, made overlapping runs and completely exposed their opposition’s fragile defensive awareness.

They were looking to intercept the passes and press their opponents, thus leaving them with fairly less time to build a constructed passing move. Bournemouth’s intensity on the field was so good that they ran circles around Nemanja Matic and forced Chris Smalling into making a couple of errors, which could have had endearing effects.

The sheer energy that their team induced on the field left United to play catch-up for the majority of the first half. Callum Wilson’s instinctive finish meant that Mourinho’s team went behind yet again and it was all a result of Howe’s impressive work on the training ground and a good implementation on the field against an arguably better-skilled opposition.

#4 Manchester United have got to start matches well now

There is something that has been synonymous with United ever since the days when Sir Alex Ferguson was at the helm of things. The team might go a goal down, but their spirits were always on the rise. They always found a way to claw back in the game and snatch away the three points eventually. Whilst the current team seems to be doing the same, it is more because of their constant poor starts to matches.

It always takes around half an hour or a goal from the opposition for this United team to play according to their potential. While a wakeup call once in a while is good enough, Mourinho’s players have been doing so continuously for some time. They seem to start matches off-guard, lose possession, mess up passing moves and accordingly concede a goal out through a defensive lapse of concentration.

It is shambolic that despite having probably the best custodian in European football in their ranks, United have managed to keep only a single clean sheet in their 11 Premier League matches so far. The defensive drawbacks are far too visible, and though Victor Lindelof has put up an impressive display in the last month or so, there seems to always be a sense of doubt and loophole when they are pushed behind by the opposition’s frontline.

United have notched impressive comebacks against Newcastle United, Chelsea and now Bournemouth in the last few weeks. However, the game against Juventus was a testament to the fact that they will not always have the opportunity to find their way back into the game. The manager and the whole set up need to work on how to maintain a consistent intensity and concentration throughout the course of ninety minutes. Because, as Ander Herrera very maturely said after the match, United need to become a ‘whole game team’.

#3 Difference in quality of the players reflects in the end

Bournemouth were definitely the better side in the first half. As explained in the earlier slide, they were tenacious and determined to ensure that they imposed their quality over United. The away team struggled and succumbed to some extent due to the pressure exerted by Howe’s men. However, the difference in the quality of players and the experience of having fought back from losing situations was clearly visible in the end.

United required just one undisturbed and cohesive attacking move to notch the equalizer. Sanchez and Young teed up well in the right flank and then the Chilean’s low cross was met well by Anthony Martial who scored through a deft left-footed finish. Whereas, Bournemouth were unable to score more goals due to some blunt finishes and the brilliance of David de Gea.

Then, the Cherries failed to recover properly after United’s equalizer and were pegged back in the last 45 minutes. Pogba’s sumptuous shimmy and cross, which led to the winning goal was a testament of the class and talent that the midfielder possesses.

Bournemouth would rave about the number of goal-scoring chances that they missed in the first half an hour of the game. Certainly, considering their partial dominance over United, Howe’s men should have plundered a couple of more goals and thus put the game to bed quite early into the match.

#2 Alexis Sanchez finds a suitable role amidst the crisis at the tip of the attack

These three teed up well for the third goal

For the majority of his career at Manchester United, Alexis Sanchez has cut a frustrated figure for being unable to get into the thick of the things. A player who was probably one of the top three players in the Premier League a year ago, Sanchez’s frustrations are quite understandable at the moment. He has already been troubled by two injuries in this season so far.

The Chilean returned to the lineup to play as the striker in the absence of Romelu Lukaku. It could be argued that he had the expected impact, or a relatively better one than the Belgian whilst playing through the centre and from the right wing. Despite his short stature, Sanchez was aerially strong and held the ball effectively well to bring the wingers into play. His linkup was good enough and looked to deliver good lateral deliveries into the box too.

Sanchez’s interlinking with Ashley Young and the assist to Martial was exactly the sort of movement that one would expect from a Manchester United forward. Right now, the team heavily relies on Martial to provide the goals and in this sort of a situation, someone from the forward line needs to assist the Frenchman in delivering those goals.

So far, Martial has depended on Pogba to provide him with the required deliveries in and around the box. Given the fact that Sanchez himself has been unable to match his goal-scoring standards of the past, it would be a boon to the team if he dons the supporter’s role to Martial. The former Arsenal star did a good job from the right flank after Rashford’s introduction.

In fact, there was a period in the second half when United managed to maintain a spell of pressure over Bournemouth because Sanchez recovered the ball near the halfway line.

The first goal was also a result of him dropping deep, winning the ball, linking up with the fullback and then delivering an accurate pass to carve a way back into the game. Considering Lukaku’s constant struggles in front of the goal, maybe giving Sanchez a run through the middle or from the right wouldn’t be a bad idea currently.

#1 Manchester United’s Golden Boys turn up yet again

The duo was responsible for United's comeback at Stamford Bridge too

There is something refreshing, imminently beautiful when you talk about Anthony Martial in a red shirt. The introverted character who according to common opinion failed to gel well with Mourinho has been a saving grace, a lightning beam in deep darkness for United.

The sheer nonchalance with which he dribbles past defenders, the silky touch he controls the ball with and the wicked drop of a shoulder has become reminiscent with the Frenchman. Though his progress was stalled post-Sanchez’s arrival, Martial has now shown what he could do if he is trusted over a long run of games through his favoured position.

There are few better finishers that the 22-year-old in the Premiership and the vast variety and versatility of the range of finishes that he produces is simply pleasant to the eye. He is capable of curling the ball from the edge of a box filled with defenders and then producing a simple, deft tap-in with his weaker foot when required.

Martial has scored in four consecutive Premier League matches for the first time in his United career and one could only hope that he continues this form so that United’s ongoing season attains some stability. If Martial is the definition of grace, then Rashford seems to be the sheer personification of rugged, strong mentality which his manager adheres. He hasn’t had the best of start to the season, after already having served a three-match suspension for a headbutt on Phil Bardsley.

However, after coming on the pitch in the second half, Rashford made it clear that he was going to try his best to win the game for United. He dropped deep to create space and terrorize the opposition’s backline by directly running at them.

The recently turned 21-year-old missed a glorious opportunity through a free-kick from Young but he kept on going and finally scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute. Rashford has always seemed to thrive on confidence and a consistent run of games, pretty much like Martial.

Though he needs to make subtle improvements in his overall gameplay, it is visible from his rigid mentality and desire to improve and prove others wrong that he would achieve the level that he is destined to in the coming years. For now, this goal could arguably work wonders for his confidence.

Edited by Amar Anand