So that’s your lot. Ben Fisher was on point at Dean Court, and here’s his take on Bournemouth’s victory. Enjoy ... and thanks for reading the MBM!
Ole’s view. “We are disappointed of course, but when you come to places like this, you have to take control of the game. I thought we started really well, but a lack of quality, we couldn’t get a goal. And when the game becomes like it did, the first goal is always going to be important. Every time you concede a goal it’s bad, but it’s a bit of magic that wins the game, you’ve got to say that. Maybe I should have started a few others, who knows, but they started the game well so I don’t think it was that. If you want to be challenging for the top four, and moving up the table, you have to win games like this. But I am sure Bournemouth will say that as well.”
An extremely content Eddie Howe speaks to BT Sport. “I thought it was a really good game. We were solid and competitive, we looked a real threat. We respected our opponents, but we got over the line. Another clean sheet as well. A great goal, and that would have meant a lot to Joshua King. We didn’t start too well, the first ten minutes, but once we settled we were fine in the game. It was always going to be a game of few chances, but we always looked as though we would score. And we looked quite secure. The two centre halves did really well, Ake and Cook are big players for us.”
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That’s three clean sheets in a row for Bournemouth, and so Nathan Ake is named man-of-the-match by Steve McManaman on BT Sport. “After ten minutes, we started to play really well,” he says. “We worked very hard for this win, and I think we deserved it. I am very happy with the clean sheet we got.”
The match-winner Joshua King adds: “To get the winning goal is a good feeling. I focused on the goal, lobbed it over with my right foot. I didn’t know whether anyone was there, and hit it cleanly through De Gea’s legs. We know we can score goals, even though there’s been a dry spell.”
United started strongly but lost their way midway through the first half and never got their mojo back. Bournemouth deserved their victory, earned by the one moment of true quality in the match, Joshua King’s flick, spin and shot just before the break. It was a finish Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have been proud of himself, though doubtless he won’t appreciate it right now.
FULL TIME: Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester United
United’s three-game winning run comes to an end on the south coast. Bournemouth beat them for only the third time in their history ... and move up to sixth in the Premier League as a result! They leapfrog United, who drop to eighth.
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90 min +2: Williams races down the left and shifts the ball inside for Lingard, who tries to work space to shoot just outside the Bournemouth box. Lerma closes the door.
90 min +1: Fred has a pop from 20 yards, but it’s straight at Ramsdale.
90 min: Callum Wilson is booked for his brazen attempt to win a free kick on the halfway line. Rightly or wrongly, the referee doesn’t buy it. There will be three minutes of bonus time.
89 min: King and Fraser take turns to dribble upfield, taking the ball as far away from their goal as possible. McTominay tries to return it, but his cross from the right is no good whatsoever. Not too much quality on show right now, but it’s good fun nonetheless. It’s tense at Dean Court!
88 min: A poor defensive header skims off Rico’s head, and that’s a free corner for United out on the right. Maguire meets the set piece, but once again can’t get a header on target. Goal kick to Bournemouth, and they’re not rushing to take it.
86 min: Lindelof crosses from the right. Maguire clanks a header wide left from six yards. His blushes are spared by the offside flag; it wouldn’t have counted anyway. Then Bournemouth make a defensively minded change, replacing Harry Wilson with Lewis Cook.
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84 min: Now McTominay bashes a shot into Ramsdale’s arms from distance. United are finally showing some urgency. Should they equalise, Callum Wilson will rue latching onto a long pass that sprung United’s offside trap. He was offside, but dribbled goalwards anyway. Had he left it for King, Bournemouth were in.
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83 min: And it nearly pays instant dividend, as Fred swings a ball in from the left. Rico loses it, and it drops to Greenwood, who slams a shot against the right-hand post from close range!
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81 min: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes his last throw of the dice. Wan-Bissaka and James are replaced by Williams and Greenwood. Lingard is handed a sheet of paper detailing United’s all-new formation. A furrowed brow. Everyone shifts around.
79 min: Another corner for United, out on the left. Young loops it into the mixer, but Ramsdale punches miles clear with confidence. However the visitors are soon coming back at the hosts, and Young earns himself another corner, which he takes. Billing heads clear, then Callum Wilson purchases a cheap free kick by running into McTominay, who is waving his arms around in the semaphore style.
78 min: Rashford and Lingard nearly one-two their way through the Bournemouth back line, but Cook clears just in time. “If Bournemouth are dressed like AC Milan,” begins fashion’s Peter Oh, “United look like Palermo-lite.”
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76 min: From the resulting corner, Callum Wilson heads harmlessly wide from close range. A poor miss, though it wouldn’t have counted anyway, as amid a rumble, McTominay had been illegally impeded.
75 min: Callum Wilson tees up his namesake Harry on the edge of the United box. Harry drops a shoulder, shifts the ball towards the right-hand edge of the D, and fizzes a low shot towards the bottom corner. It’s going in, but fingertipped round the post by De Gea. What a save!
73 min: Fraser has the chance to release King down the left but dawdles and is robbed. Then Fred sends a shot towards Plymouth. Not a high-quality moment.
71 min: Lerma tries to thread a shot into the bottom right from an ambitious distance. It bobbles harmlessly wide, and De Gea had it covered in any case.
70 min: Bournemouth half clear the corner, but United are soon coming back at them. Young tears down the left and hooks into the mixer. Ake heads clear, just in time, with Martial lurking. This is better from United, who have turned it up a notch. They needed to.
69 min: Lindelof channels his inner Beckenbauer and strides forward with great purpose, nearly releasing Martial with a sliderule pass. Smith intervenes and hacks out for a corner on the left.
68 min: Harry Wilson looks to curl one into the top left, but gets it all wrong and it flies towards the top-left corner of the stand behind. Awful. Meanwhile United make their first change, replacing Pereira with Lingard.
66 min: Lerma and Callum Wilson combine nicely down the inside-right channel. Wilson looks to lay off to Smith, rushing into the box to his right. Young tugs Smith back just before he enters the area. Young is booked for his cynicism, and he’ll miss the next match. Meanwhile this is a free kick just to the right of the D, and Harry Wilson really fancies it.
64 min: A hectic moment or two. Billing hoicks a ball into the United box from the right. It drops, via a deflection, to Callum Wilson, but the striker can’t poke the ball past a star-jumping De Gea, who blocks. The ball breaks to Harry Wilson, who can’t steer it into the unguarded net. Pereira goes up the other end and has a whack. That’s blocked too. Then Lindelof is booked for clattering into the back of Harry Wilson in midfield. And breathe.
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62 min: Fraser slides into James. He comes in from the side, but with excessive force, and he’s late to boot. Into the book he goes.
61 min: Martial nearly bustles his way past Ake, chasing a pass straight down the middle. Ake does very well to stand firm, just as it looks as though Martial might nip through, and hooks clear. That was a good battle.
59 min: McTominay tries to take a quick free kick, and King cynically gets in the way. The referee’s in a good mood, because he stops short of booking the goalscorer for his sauce. Just a quiet word.
57 min: Pereira has a dig from distance. Ramsdale turns the ball away from the bottom-left corner, a fine save. United then win a corner, which is wasted. A little bit better from the visitors, who haven’t really got going in this second half.
55 min: Cook is booked for a wild slide through Rashford on the halfway line. That was needlessly aggressive, arguably out of control, and the Bournemouth defender can count himself lucky the referee didn’t brandish red. He’s fortunate Rashford had the wit to jump out of the road, because if his feet were planted that could have been very ugly.
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54 min: Pereira tries to release Martial down the inside left, but his ball skims off the wet surface and out for a goal kick. Martial had no chance of catching that. “Is this the same Man U that beat my team in Cup?” wonders Paul Sinclair. “Ole needs to stick to a system plus give Rashford and Martital more freedom.”
53 min: Ramsdale shanks the ball out of play under pressure from Martial. United are gifted good field position, but do little with it, McTominay wafting a weak shot goalwards that’s easily charged down by Lerma.
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51 min: A better pass down the inside-right channel by Billing for Harry Wilson, and Bournemouth are in. But it’s behind Wilson, and the move putters out. United were light at the back there, and got away with one.
50 min: United, so entertaining when playing at speed last week in Norwich, have slowed down to a crawl. They’re going nowhere. All very sluggish.
49 min: Harry Wilson and Smith triangulate deliciously down the right. Wilson hooks long for Fraser, racing in from the other flank. Fraser leaps, shapes and guides a volley goalwards. It’s straight into De Gea’s midriff. A shame for the purists, because that would have been a picture-book goal.
47 min: King races after a long ball down the left. He nearly gets the better of a leaden Lindelof, but the defender does just enough to guide the ball back to De Gea, who wallops clear.
Bournemouth get the second half underway! No half-time changes ... although the weather’s a lot better. No rain. And everyone in nice new dry kit, too.
Half-time reading. Get ready for the 3pm kick-offs with our match previews.
HALF TIME: Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester United
That’s the end of Bournemouth’s goal drought, then. Appropriately enough, given the conditions. They trot off soaked to the bone, but feeling all warm inside.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester United (King 45)
... so having said that, a moment of great quality! Smith dinks a cross into the United box from the right. King chests it down on the edge of the six-yard box with his back to goal and Wan-Bissaka right behind him. King dinks the ball over his own head, spins, leans back, and lashes past De Gea! What a fine finish! Although the collective defending by Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof and Maguire, statuesque to a man, wasn’t all that great.
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43 min: The wind is playing havoc. Ball control is at a premium right now. They should replace the TV commentary with a symphony for swanee whistle.
41 min: The wind’s swirling about, and so is the ball. It doesn’t make for classic viewing.
39 min: Pereira needlessly bundles Lerma to the ground, and it’s a free kick for Bournemouth out on the right. The free kick finds Harry Wilson on the edge of the box, but his fierce shot is well blocked by one of those ecru shirts.
37 min: It’s all got a bit scrappy. So with nothing much going on, the home crowd give Martial pelters, accusing the forward of diving back there in the hope of winning a penalty. All pantomime stuff.
35 min: It’s not much of a ruck, to be honest. Nobody throws hands. But the pushing and shoving earns both Lerma and Fred a yellow card. That’s earned Lerma a suspension. The resulting corner’s a non-event.
33 min: Rashford and Martial combine neatly down the inside-left channel. Martial tries to break into the box for a shot. Lerma steps across him and flicks the ball out for a corner. Martial wants a penalty, but doesn’t get one. Martial and Lerma lock horns, at which point a melee erupts. Wahey!
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31 min: Billing tries to release Fraser down the left, but the pass is overhit and useless. Fraser is repeatedly finding some good positions; it’s a shame for Bournemouth that his teammates can’t find him.
30 min: A tempest rages for a couple of minutes. It dies down, and suddenly the garden-variety driving rain doesn’t seem so bad.
28 min: King nearly finds Fraser again, but the Bournemouth wide man can’t break through Lindelof’s challenge. Had he done so, he’d have been through on goal. This is better from the home side, who haven’t caused United too many problems otherwise.
27 min: Bournemouth take their first shot in anger. A long punt down the right frees King into space. He swivels and finds Fraser, in acres down the inside-left channel. Fraser enters the box, and should do much better than whistling an effort straight into De Gea’s chest.
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25 min: Bournemouth string a few passes together. Much better from the home side. Suddenly Fraser turns on the jets down the left, and wins a corner. He then wastes it with an easy-to-read delivery. United clear.
23 min: Young challenges Smith hard from behind. No free kick, which annoys the crowd. Rashford takes off down the other end, and nearly works himself space to shoot on the edge of the box. Not quite. The Bournemouth faithful continue to give it some, while Eddie Howe has a full and frank exchange of views with the fourth official.
21 min: Pereira’s free kick is abysmal. But so is Cook’s clearance. The ball drops to James, to the right of the D. He hits a first-time riser towards the top right ... but it flies inches wide. So close to the opener.
20 min: James purchases a cheap free kick from a clumsy Fraser as he whizzes down the right. A free kick in a dangerous position. Essentially a corner. From which ...
19 min: But James is quickly coming back at Bournemouth, and earns another corner, off Rico. Pereira’s aimless corner is easily cleared.
18 min: Rashford bombs down the left. After performing a couple of cute stepovers, he pulls one back for Fred, who pearls goalwards. His shot is deflected out for a corner, from which nothing occurs.
16 min: United make a meal of clearing the corner. Fraser tries to force his way through a thicket of players, and falls over near Maguire. The crowd want a penalty, chanting “VAR! VAR!” but the ref’s having none of it, and anyway it looked like the Bournemouth man handled as he went over.
15 min: Harry Wilson makes a nuisance of himself down the right. He cuts into the box, one-twoing with Smith, then shoots from a tight angle. The ball’s deflected out, off Lindelof, for a corner on the right.
14 min: Callum Wilson tears down the left. He crosses long for Lerma, who prepares to shoot from the edge of the box. But the ball takes an age to drop, and by the time he’s pelting it goalwards, Maguire is right in his face to block. Harry Wilson tries to keep the move going, but turns out the chance is gone.
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12 min: Fred is down, having taken an accidental whack in the face by Billing. Poor Phil. He’s up and about again soon enough.
10 min: You can’t blame them for slipping and sliding all over the shop, mind. It is a thoroughly rank day. The rain is sheeting down.
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8 min: For the third time, already, James rips down the right. He loops long for Fred, who makes like Pereira did a few minutes back. If United’s midfielders stop falling over, someone’s going to connect soon and belt one into the net.
7 min: James goes on another unchallenged run down the right. Where’s Rico? James lays off for Pereira, who lashes a high, wild shot over the bar from a tight angle.
6 min: Callum Wilson surges through the middle and tries to release Harry Wilson down the left. His ball down the flank isn’t bad, but it’s anticipated by Wan-Bissaka who intercepts and sets United off on the counter. Martial has a whack from distance, but the shot dribbles into Ramsdale’s arms.
5 min: United look confident. That’s what three away wins on the spin can do. They’re pinging it around nicely. Crisp, speedy and fresh. Bournemouth can’t get a sniff at the minute.
3 min: Martial plays a lovely ball around the corner to set James skittering down the right. James cuts a lovely low ball back for Pereira, who misses his kick from the edge of the box and falls over, aquaplaning across the wet turf. Slapstick stuff, but that was a lovely incisive move by United, performed at breakneck speed.
2 min: All a bit scrappy in the early stages, as both sets of players find their feet and get used to the conditions.
And we’re off! United get the ball rolling. A cracking atmosphere on the south coast, despite the awful weather. It’s teeming down. And the wind’s up too. Not an ideal day for defenders. And immediately a long punt by Ramsdale confuses Maguire. Fortunately for the big man, the flag goes up for offside, Callum Wilson having gone far too early.
The teams are out! Bournemouth wear their stylish Milan-inspired red-and-black stripes, forcing United into a change strip of what looks suspiciously like ecru, a shade made famous by the likes of Robbie Fowler, Stan Collymore and Jason McAteer. I know United’s travails post-Fergie have been compared to Liverpool’s early-to-mid-90s decline, but this is taking things to extremes. Whatever next? Cream suits? What a pretty pass. Anyway, it’s lashing down at Dean Court. We’ll be off in a minute, after a moment’s silent reflection ahead of Remembrance Day.
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... and now BT Sport talk to Eddie Howe. “Unlike us, we’ve not been at our best in the attacking third in the last three games. Hopefully that’ll change today while we keep the defensive solidity that’s served us well. We’re going to need everybody to get a result against Manchester United, the crowd, the players. We’ll have to manage the conditions. Starting well is really important. We’re certainly looking forward to the game.”
A pre-match chat with Ole. “It’s not been as bad as everyone thought it has been, and it’s probably not as great as everyone thinks it is now. You just have to be focused and take your chances. At the moment we’re confident. We have loads of running power and pace, we’ll create chances against any team. Bournemouth have top centre forwards and good delivery down either side. We need to defend properly, and we need to start well.”
Weather report.
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Just the one change to the Bournemouth team that served up a goalless draw with Watford last weekend. Harry Wilson comes in for Arnaut Groeneveld.
Manchester United meanwhile are in if-it-ain’t-broke mode. They name the same XI sent out to beat Norwich City 3-1 last Sunday.
The teams
Bournemouth: Ramsdale, Smith, Steve Cook, Ake, Rico, Fraser, Lerma, Billing, Harry Wilson, Callum Wilson, King.
Subs: Boruc, Francis, Solanke, Danjuma, Lewis Cook, Kelly, Mepham.
Manchester United: de Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Young, McTominay, Fred, James, Andreas Pereira, Rashford, Martial.
Subs: Mata, Lingard, Rojo, Romero, Greenwood, Garner, Williams.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire).
Preamble
That was a hell of a seven days for Manchester United. Wins at Partizan Belgrade! Norwich! And Chelsea! Having waited since early March for an away win, that little burst of success registered a perfect ten on the Guardian’s patented London Bus-o-meter™. Not only that, it puts an end to talk of UNITED IN CRISIS! Seeing the last time UNITED were IN CRISIS! was the autumn of 1989, all this suggests UNITED aren’t scheduled to be in CRISIS! again until mid-2049 (English civil wars and global water levels notwithstanding). Phew. Some time and space for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to do his job in peace, then!
Expectation has been revived by this recent form, not least because Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are clicking. United have suddenly remembered how good it feels to score more than one goal in a game. History is also on their side today: they’ve won their last four matches against Bournemouth. United are thus expected to make it four wins on the bounce, and keep climbing back towards their accustomed habitat, the upper echelons of the Premier League table.
Will the Cherries oblige? Eddie Howe’s team haven’t won for over a month, since beating Southampton, against whom, well, y’know. Since then, they’ve been knocked out of the League Cup by Burton Albion, and are currently on a three-match run without a single, solitary goal, stretching back to September 28. On the flip side, they can point to their current position in the top half of the Premier League table, and that both their points and goals-for tallies (13 and 13) are exactly the same as today’s more illustrious visitors. And as United have themselves shown, all bad runs come to an end at some point.
A goal-fest doesn’t, on balance, look likely. But who knows in football? You can thank us for tempting fate when they start flying in at both ends. It’s on!
Kick off: 12.30pm GMT.
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