Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester United

An injury-time winner from Marcus Rashford insured that Jose Mourinho's men came away with all 3 points from the Vitality Stadium but one wouldn't have considered that likely after the first 30 minutes.

Bournemouth started the first half strongly, completely dominating the first 30 minutes of the contest and taking the lead through Callum Wilson. Though the goal came via a cross from the right, most of Bournemouth's attacking came down the left hand side with Ryan Fraser and Adam Smith looking dangerous as always.

It was only after the half hour mark that United finally started to look dangerous. Alexis Sanchez put in one of his better performances in a United shirt, making dangerous runs into the channels. It was one such run that led to him crossing for Martial to slot home the equalizer.

Sanchez was also unfortunate to adjudged offside when he was put through by Fred and was one-on-one with Begovic. Fred had earlier spurned a glorious opportunity to equalize when he found himself free in the box but couldn't make the most of his opportunity.

Bournemouth's defence never quite looked comfortable against the pace of United's forwards. United's midfield however didn't quite click. Nemanja Matic has been out of form of late. Pogba and Fred did not seem to be covering each other when one made a charge forward. This left United a bit vulnerable defensively. Chris Smalling was not having a memorable game either at the back.

The game continued to be open after the break with both teams having decent chances. 18 shots each proves this fact. Marcus Rashford was brought on for Mata as Mourinho went for even more pace. Eddie Howe switched to a 4-3-3 midway through the 2nd half, bringing on Dan Gosling for Lewis Cook and Jordan Ibe for Ryan Fraser; shifting Brooks to the right. This gave them more fluidity and options in attack.

In the end, a stoppage time winner proved the difference. Pogba made a very good run down the left before crossing to Rashford who steadied himself and calmly provided the finish.

Conclusions 



A second consecutive 2-1 win for United and they move level with Bournemouth on 20 points but remain 1 spot below them in 7th on goal difference. This is an important victory with difficult fixtures in midweek against Juventus and next week away to Manchester City coming up. Problems in midfield and defence are there for all to see but Mourinho will be pleased with some promising signs from his forwards.

Martial and Pogba both seem to be hitting form, and not a moment too soon. If United are to turn things around this season, a lot will depend on these two. Having Rashford back among the goals is another welcome relief.

Eddie Howe's side will be disappointed to not get something out of this match considering how bright they were at the start of the game. The team moves the ball well and always look threatening in attack but a lack of pace in defence is something they will need to assess if they are to maintain ambitions of a place in Europe.

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