Manchester United turned in a dire performance at home to Bournemouth, ultimately succumbing to a 3-0 defeat by the Cherries – the same result from this fixture last season.
It was a classic case of ‘1 step forward, 2 steps back’. After the jubilation and optimism of last week’s derby win, we are right back in the doldrums after turning in another awful performance with a corresponding result. We now sit in thirteenth place, whilst Bournemouth shoot up to fifth
a poor first half and shocking defending
United started the game OK, Amad going close early on after a nice piece of skill by Joshua Zirkzee, but that was about as good as it got.
A cagey opening half hour saw chances at a premium, but United were down after 28 minutes due to – again – another set piece. Ryan Christie’s free kick was easily nodded in by Dean Huijsen; his marker – 6’4″ Joshua Zirkzee – not getting even close.
We rallied and had a couple of chances but Bruno shot wide and Zirkzee couldn’t beat the keeper, and we ended the half a goal down.
crazy decision-making and awful defending
Bournemouth started the second half the better team and we couldn’t get much going. Time after time the Bournemouth press forced us into playing backwards and sideways, and we just didn’t look like we had the players to play through it.
Joshua Zirkzee, for his huge frame and large stature, looked so lightweight in his duels – I can’t remember him winning a header or successfully holding the ball up all afternoon. He was hooked for Rasmus Hojlund – who immediately looked like an upgrade – but to no avail. Garnacho simultaneously came on for Ugarte, who did OK but was sacrificed for more attacking impetus.
Five minutes later Mazraoui made an uncharacteristically rash challenge on Justin Kluivert, who despatched the penalty with ease. It got even worse for United a few minutes after that; Mazraoui again was caught miles up the pitch, Mainoo lost the ball, a couple of decent passes later and Semenyo had an easy finish on the 6-yard line. Cue Reds streaming out of Old Trafford in droves as the joyous Bournemouth fans taunted the Old Trafford faithful.
Player Ratings & motm
Andre Onana – 5: Too slow in distribution and let in 3 goals
Harry Maguire – 4: Pressed too easily and looked unusually shaky at set pieces
Lisandro Martinez – 4: Similar to Maguire – couldn’t deal with the press and not at all reliable at the back. Could have been subbed he was that poor
Noussair Mazraoui – 4: An OK performance until his insane tackle to concede the penalty for the first goal – was then caught far too high up the pitch for the second
Manuel Ugarte – 5: Kept going but struggled to deal with the industrious Bournemotuh midfield, picked up a yellow and was subbed
Diogo Dalot – 4: Almost completely ineffective on the right
Kobbie Mainoo – 6 & MOTM: Probably our least bad player with some nice touches and link-up play, although did drop off in the second half
Tyrell Malacia – 4: Gave away the free kick for the first goal and offered almost no threat down the left with the equally impotent Zirkzee
Amad Diallo – 5: Kept going and offered some threat but couldn’t make anything happen
Bruno Fernandes – 6 : Went close a few times in the first half and kept trying to make things happen, but ultimately ineffective
Joshua Zirkzee – 2: A desperately poor performance. Won almost no duels or headers, couldn’t hold the ball up and couldn’t run in behind either. Nowhere near his man for the goal. Subbed for Hojlund and surely will struggle to make it back into the starting 11 any time soon
Subs:
Rasmus Hojlund – 5: Immediate upgrade on Josh Zirkzee and clearly better suited to both holding the ball up and running in behind. Had a couple of shots that went wide
Garnacho – 4: Same old poor decision-making and fluffed an easy chance when 3-0 down
Leny Yoro – 5: Less bad than some others but still gave the ball away a few times
Looking Forward
We play Wolves away on Boxing Day and the Newcastle at home on the 30th of December. If we play play like we did against Bournemouth and never get out of third gear, we will win neither game. Amorim needs to really get into the players, get the team selection right and get us doing the basics well again. We know we have the ability to put in great performances – hopefully this game is just a blip and not the start of a downwards trend.