Match report
Time for me to go and find a banana. John Brewin’s match report from the South Coast will be with you soon. All eyes are now on Anfield, where even the air has turned red. Do join Simon Burnton to see if Liverpool can grab the point they need to seal their 20th league title. Thanks for your company, correspondence and forthright views on Ruben Amorim. He can, at least, be relieved that Rasmus Hojlund has scored a goal, for only the fourth time in the league this season.
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“Alright Tim!” says Fergus MacElhatton. “Another Moan United fan here, though delighted to scrape a point today. Seems like much of Amorim’s and therefore our woes are due to his inflexibility with formation, despite generally not having the players to suit the 3-5-2. Is this arguably the final suffering inflicted by Ten Hag’s tactical anarchy, an overcorrection to the point of dogma?”
Ha. It’s certainly striking what has happened when Amorim has ditched the dogma. In the frantic final acts when he has switched to a back four, United now have two mini-wins and a mini-draw: it was 0-0 at Forest, 2-0 v Lyon and 1-0 here. In the same games, the back three was losing every time – 0-1, 3-4 and 0-1 again.
Here’s an email that came in before the equaliser. “I’m still amazed,” says Edan Tal, “about how Amorim is still able to sell the idea of being this bad as totally necessary for the future. Sometimes bad is just bad, and it looks like United will be stuck with lots of expensive centre-backs and no wingers when he gets sacked next year.”
“That red card,” says Andy Flintoff, “was similar to one for Fernandes earlier in the season, which was reduced on appeal as he slipped too. It doesn’t help Bournemouth now, of course.”
“One feature of ‘Amorim’s beloved back three’ (83 mins),” says Colum Farrelly, “is that you never know who might be in it. Like the midfield – any combo of five or six players. And the forwards. There is never a settled anything, except for Onana. And even he’s not a constant. The players must be well confused about who’s supposed to be where.” True. It takes top-class players to cope with that. With Shaw moving into centre-stage for the last 20 minutes, they did look better, but then they only had ten opponents.
So Andoni Iraola doesn’t join the club of managers who have done the double over United. But he does maintain his unbeaten record against them. United ended up having 25 shots, six of them on target; Bournemouth had eight, with just the one on target. When it was 11 v 11, Bournemouth were the better side, but thereafter, for 28 minutes, they showed that they weren’t born to park the bus.
“The glower of Sir Jim Ratcliffe,” says Eric Peterson, “gives him an uncanny resemblance to Roger Waters, as if he’s thinking about all those times the other jerks in Pink Floyd had the nerve to have musical thoughts of their own.”
“If Liverpool had stopped playing at Christmas,” says Marie Meyer in Santa Fe, “they’d still have more points than Man United.” Ha. According to Whoscored.com, it would actually be a tie – 39 all. But point taken.
The upshot is that Bournemouth stay 10th. Their chances of a place in Europe, already slim, are now vanishing, given their tough fixture list. United, on the other hand, soar to 14th, one place above Everton.
FULL TIME! Bournemouth 1-1 Man United
Fergie time does the trick! Well, up to a point. A draw is progress for United. Bournemouth paid in the end for the red card for Evanilson, whose slip eluded both the ref and the VAR.
90+9 min Obi goes down just inside the box, but it’s just a collision. Corner to United… they try something too elaborate, which ends with Shaw overhitting a cross.
90+7 min Iraola replaces Ouattara with Jebbison, probably to kill time.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-1 United (Hojlund 90+6)
They’ve found the net! Hojlund adds a flick to someone else’s shot. He could be offside, but no… the VAR gives the goal.
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90+5 min United advance again. Garnacho, in his natural habitat now on the left wing, lets the ball roll under his foot and out for a throw-in. The home fans enjoy that.
90+3 min Chances for Garnacho, Eriksen and Fernandes! The first two were scrappy but Fernandes had a clear sight of goal. His shot from distance was curled artfully but not quite sharply enough.
90+2 min Final United sub: Dorgu is replaced by Eriksen, who takes over from Fernandes on corner duty.
90+1 min Chance for Obi! Sent through by Shaw, he does well to keep his balance and shoot for the top corner, where Kepa paws it out.
90 min There will be NINE more minutes. Where’s Maguire when they need him?
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89 min Chance for Mount! Dorgu’s cut-back reaches him near the penalty spot, but his shot is deflected wide. Chance for Shaw! Fernandes finds him with a corner, but Shaw’s volley goes wide.
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87 min If the score stays like this, Amorim will have lost 12 league games out of 23. A camera finds Jim Ratcliffe, who says he likes Amorim – but has been known to change his mind rather abruptly.
86 min Shaw wins a corner with a classy cross. He’s still got it.
85 min Bournemouth sub: Senesi for Semenyo as Iraola shores up his defence. Exit Semenyo, pursued by a big hand.
83 min I think Amorim has abandoned his beloved back three. It looks like 4-4-2 with Dorgu now at right-back and Hojlund and Obi up front. If it is a back four, that’s the third time Amorim has made this switch when in a tight corner. Both the previous times – late on against Forest and Lyon – the second striker was Maguire. It bore no fruit at Forest but brought the two last-gasp goals against Lyon. And United didn’t concede either time.
78 min United on the prowl again. Garnacho’s cut'-back can’t find a team-mate. As Bournemouth threaten to counter, Shaw takes one for the team.
77 min Chance for Obi! Shaw, now at left-back, executes a model overlap and cut-back, but Obi can’t quite sort his feet out in time to put any power into his shot.
76 min Amorim sends on a fourth sub, and it’s a bold one: Chido Obi, the teenage centre-forward, for Mazraoui, the seasoned odd-job man.
75 min And Bournemouth can still be a danger on the break. Some good work from Tavernier wins them a corner, which they can’t turn into a chance.
73 min One of the Bournemouth coaches, Neil Moss, collected a yellow card. Now the question is: can United make use of their good fortune. Answer: not right away, as Dorgu’s airy cross makes it easy for Kepa.
71 min Bournemouth subs: Tavernier for Kluivert, Cook for Scott.
RED CARD! Evanilson
Bankes had given a yellow, but now he brandishes a red. And the VAR, much to Alan Smith’s disgust, has not mentioned the possibility of a slip. “Dumbfounded about that one… It’s a total accident.”
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69 min Peter Bankes is being sent to the monitor….
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68 min The VAR is looking into a tackle from Evanilson on Mazraoui. “I do think he slipped,” says Alan Smith.
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65 min United subs, three of them. Off goes Harry Maguire, United’s best striker in recent weeks, as Lindelof comes on. And the pivot goes too as Casemiro and Mainoo give way to Ugarte and Mount. That presumably means that Fernandes will go from a 10 to a 6.
65 min Dorgu again, threatening to get away on the counter. Kluivert fouls him and takes a yellow for the team.
64 min Dorgu tries a chip-cross and almost nicks a goal.
63 min Dean Huijsen, usually so classy, gets a yellow card for delaying the re-start after being penalised for pushing Hojlund.
62min If you’re a United fan, don’t panic: Victor Lindelof is about to come on.
61 min “Say what you like about Garnacho,” writes Duncan Edwards, “but mark my words if he gets eight or nine decent chances he’s going to score. Definitely. Or at least stretch the keeper. Probably. In truth I only hope Fernandes leaves the stadium under his own steam and can have a nice rest before Thursday.” Ha. He doesn’t go in for rests, does he?
60 min Woodwork! Ouattara, taking the free kick that Dorgu allegedly conceded, rattles the top of the near post. And then Zabarnyi shoots just wide.
58 min Dorgu gets a yellow card for an alleged foul on Adam Smith. Another Smith, Alan, springs to Dorgu’s defence, showing that he got the ball.
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56 min Chance for Fernandes! Or so he thought. Dorgu set Garnacho free down the left, and his cutback was a good one which Fernandes could only skew. But the flag was up – Garnacho had gone too early.
54 min United are hanging in there, as so often in the league these days.
52 min Bournemouth win a corner, which Onana punches away for another corner.
50 min Garnacho wins a free kick. Fernandes swings it over the crowd for Maguire, but can’t reach him. Up the other end, Evanilsen aims a cross too close to Onana. It looks as if Bournemouth had the better energy drinks at half-time.
48 min Chance for Evanilsen! An inviting cross comes in from the left and Evanilsen gets in behind Shaw, but can’t apply the finishing touch.
47 min Chance for Semenyo! He latches onto a simple square ball from Kluivert and tries a screamer … just wide.
46 min United kick off and go back to Onana.
Sky go over to Anfield, where it looks as if the open-top bus parade has already begun. There’s never a good moment for Manchester United to lose a game, but this would be a particularly bad one.
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“Man Utd’s default pass,” says Phil Haran, “is back to the keeper. Only if that is prevented do they go forward and then only far enough to go back. It’s so easy to panic them with a good press.”
HALF-TIME Bournemouth 1-0 Man United
United got a bit better after going behind, but the score isn’t lying. Bournemouth have been the better team and thanks to Antoine Semenyo’s fierce shot, they have something to show for it.
45+1min In the first of two added minutes, Garnacho has a shot from distance, left-foot, low, and just wide.
44 min Rasmus Hojlund has been the invisible man again today. He gets the ball now, as United clear a free kick, but there’s nobody with him and he just dribbles out of play.
42 min Dorgu gets to the edge of the Bournemouth box, slips, handles the ball, gets up and slips again. He’s so willing, but he’s been there three months without achieving an assist.
41 min Going 1-0 down seems to have got United’s juices flowing. But Bournemouth are always happy to play on the break and now Scott sprints down the left. He sends in a decent cross, but there’s nobody there to tap it in.
39 min There was a second VAR check for a penalty, also not given, as Semenyo was manhandling Maguire. Not an easy thing to do.
38 min Big chance for United! Fernandes, coming to life now, aims a long ball towards Kepa. Garnacho runs onto it and manages a flick, which Kepa does well to fend away for a corner.
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38 min No pen.
36 min United manage some pressure at last. Mainoo has a shot that is deflected well wide for a corner. Mazraoui has a shot and so does someone else. There’s another corner, and a VAR check for a penalty.
35 min Right on cue, Fernandes is easily dispossessed. He looks a bit lost today. He’s been in central midfield so often that he may have forgotten how to play as a 10.
32 min Alan Smith makes a good point. “Amorim talking this week about intensity, and the need for his side to get better in that department, but they’re not showing much of it here.”
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30 min Bournemouth waste the corner by going round the houses. But they’re soon venturing upfield again. They’re having it easy in midfield, where United are missing Manuel Ugarte, their most effective policeman.
29 min Kerkez, racing to the byline, wins a corner off Mazraoui.
27 min Casemiro gets away with a high boot in midfield and then, rather like Adams, redeems himself with a fine perpendicular ball to Hojlund. Nothing comes of it, but it does feel as if United have a goal in them here. The problem is that it feels as if Bournemouth could easily get three.
26 min Well, United do like to concede first. Apparently it’s the 21st time they’ve done it this season.
24 min Adams won the ball back on the right wing and found Evanilsen in the middle. He made a neat lay-off back to Semenyo, who blasted a left-foot shot past Onana.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Man United (Semenyo 23)
There it is! And sure enough, it was United trying to play out from the back.
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22 min The VAR is looking at it… but agrees with the ref.
21 min Garnacho, tracking back now, goes down in pain as Tyler Adams flies into a tackle. That’s a yellow card for Adams, for the third game in a row.
20 min Kerkez, so good at both ends of the field, puts a stop to a run from Garnacho.
18 min Free kick to United on the left. Fernandes slips it to Shaw, whose cross is a good one, picking out Maguire on the right. He aims a header into the mix but it’s easily cleared.
16 min Chance for Garnacho! He starts the move on the counter and almost finishes it, but his shot from the D curls wide of the far post.
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14 min Casemiro plays an awful pass, straight to the nearest man in black-and-red, but again Bournemouth’s speedy forwards can’t capitalise. It feels as if there’s a goal coming, and not for United.
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12 min Patrick Dorgu made a nice run down the left just now, ending with a neat backheel to Granacho that was a rare moment of rapport between these two young players. But now Dorgu gives away a needless free kick, and is relieved to find the whistle coming to United’s rescue as the ball bobbles around their box.
10 min Chance for United! Mainoo wiggles down the inside-left channel, evades a tackle or two and shoots – straight at Kepa.
8 min André Onana is going short and living dangerously.
“Good point about Liverpool and Man Utd being similar,” says Tim Woods. “United’s current plight reminds me of our fallow 90s/00s years when the odd cup failed to hide an era of mediocrity. So agreed, there is a great deal in common (except for European Cups, where we have twice as many).”
6 min Kobbie Mainoo is playing in the pivot with Bruno Fernandes further forward, even though Amorim has been critical of Mainoo’s defensive abilities. We’ll see where they end up: Fernandes seldom finishes a game where he starts it.
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4 min A ghost of a chance. Ouattara, on the left, curls in a gorgeous cross which Evanilsen can’t quite reach with his attempted poke.
3 min United’s turn to get forward. Garnacho slips a pass inside to Fernandes, whose cross is unusually poor.
2 min Bournemouth make it into United’s area, but the ball goes out for a goal kick.
1 min Bournemouth kick off and get forward down the right.
The teams walk out into the sunshine. Bournemouth are in their Stendhal stripes, United in all-white, like a poor man’s Real Madrid.
As United go into their huddle, Luke Shaw seems to be giving the pep talk, which is a nice touch. Shaw is at left centre-back, so the wing-backs are Mazraoui and Dorgu. Amorim does like to have three full-backs on the field at all times.
“Rob Hisnay asked why there isn’t outrage towards Omorim about his record,” says Paul Hinson. “The reason is obvious to most. He is still mainly stuck with Ten Hag’s players and until the clearout begins in the summer the results will be the same. He needs his own team before he can be judged.” Well, up to a point. If that was the rule, nobody would be praising Arne Slot for what he’s done this season. Managers have to be able to work with players they inherited, don’t they? Their job is to get the best out of the squad.
“Yesterday,” says Bruce Crawford, “was half a century to the day since United received the Division 2 trophy on promotion back to the First Division. I was there, aged 15, with my silent cine camera.
“A joyous occasion of the sort we are sorely starved of now. We knew we had a good team and the excitement of the Tommy Docherty era is still cherished by fans from that time.
“I wonder what United fans 50 years hence will be looking back on...?”
Ha, well, it could be their triumph in the Europa League, the one competition in which Amorim hasn’t made them worse. But Athletic Bilbao are a formidable foe.
Thanks for the cine footage, which is very evocative.
“I saw this stat,” says Rob Hisnay. “‘Manchester United have averaged 1.05 points per game under Ruben Amorim – only the bottom three and Tottenham have a lower figure since his appointment.’ Where’s the outrage about this from United fans?
“Throw in two years of Ten Hag throwing money at useless players while selling a number of academy graduates. With Ratcliffe keeping Amorim, I fear we are in deep trouble.”
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Ruben Amorim admits that letting Marcus Rashford and Antony go might have cost United 10 goals. That’s as many as this once-attacking club have scored in their last eight league games. But he thinks it’s worth it, as Jamie Jackson reports.
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This is Bournemouth’s 300th game in the Premier League. In seven full seasons so far, their best finish was ninth in 2016-17. If they win today, they will be eighth, but their next three fixtures are all against teams above them – Arsenal away, Villa home, Man City away. They finish with what looks like a less daunting assignment, at home to Leicester, although funny things do happen on the final day.
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Teams in full
Bournemouth (probable 4-2-3-1) Arrizabalaga; Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Scott, Adams; Semenyo, Kluivert, Ouattara; Evanilson.
Subs: Dennis, Araujo, Senesi, Soler, Hill, Cook, Brooks, Tavernier, Jebbison.
Man United (probable 3-4-2-1) Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Yoro; Dorgu, Casemiro, Fernandes, Shaw; Garnacho, Mainoo; Højlund.
Subs: Heaton, Lindelof, Fredericson, Evans, Amass, Ugarte, Eriksen, Mount, Obi.
Teams in brief: Bournemouth unchanged
It was another disappointing result for Bournemouth last weekend, 0-0 against ten men at Crystal Palace, but Iraola sees no reason to change a drawing team.
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Teams in brief: Shaw starts
Luke Shaw, who has had such a tough time with injuries, makes his first start under Amorim, his first this season, his first since he played for England in the Euro final, and his first for United since they faced Luton 14 months ago.
Whether he’s at centre-back or wing-back remains to be seen: Amorim prefers him to stay central, but Diogo Dalot’s injury means there’s a vacancy at wing-back. It will either be filled by Noussair Mazraoui with Patrick Dorgu remaining on the left, or by Shaw with Dorgu switching to the right. Shaw would be the more creative option.
Preamble
Afternoon everyone and welcome to a contest that could have been a cracker. Bournemouth, who were fifth at Christmas, should still be in the fascinating tussle for Champions League places. Manchester United, who were only four points off the top three when Ruben Amorim arrived, should be there or thereabouts too. Instead this game pits 10th against 15th, and the main interest lies in seeing whether Bournemouth can do the double over United. This is becoming a familiar feeling for Amorim – Newcastle did it, Forest did it, even Ange’s Spurs did it – but would be a first for Bournemouth.
On form you might expect both these teams to lose. For the past three months, they have been as bad as each other in the league. Both have played 10, won 2, drawn 3 and lost 5. Both have conceded 14 goals during that run, while Bournemouth have scored 11 and United 10. Only the relegated clubs have done worse.
Opta makes Bournemouth warm favourites to win today, with a 54pc chance to United’s 22. In the reverse fixture Bournemouth won 3-0, even though, according to xG on fbref, United had slightly the better chances (2.2-1.6). “The game was quite level,” Andoni Iraola said on Friday. “It was not a 3-0 game.” But if anyone can get his team out of their slump, it’s United. Bournemouth are just the sort of opponents – mid-table, well drilled, clinical on the counter – that Amorim’s back five can’t handle.
For the travelling fans, as if they didn’t have enough sorrows already, there’s a bitter piece of history beckoning on the long journey home. With Liverpool playing straight afterwards, this is probably the last time United will take the field as the only English team with 20 league titles. When Virgil van Dijk lifts the Premier League trophy, it will deepen the curious resemblance between the two clubs. They’re like a pair of brothers who are so busy shouting at each other that they can’t see how similar they are.
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