Two days ago, Man Utd played well and defeated Chelsea at Old Trafford but had to accept a 0-3 loss to Bournemouth in round 16 of the Premier League with the same scenario.
Solanke scored against Man Utd. (Source: Getty) |
Man Utd played very poorly at home at Old Trafford in round 16 of the Premier League, against Bournemouth. The hopes of Man Utd fans for another victory were crushed mercilessly when Ten Hag's team played very poorly and had to accept a 0-3 defeat.
Man Utd started off shaky after the opening whistle, the home players' carelessness made them pay early. In the 5th minute, Bournemouth stole the ball near Man Utd's penalty area, Cook crossed from the right for Solanke to skillfully backheel the ball past goalkeeper Onana to open the score.
Having conceded an early goal, Man Utd tried to push their squad forward to attack, but the home team only controlled the ball better than the visitors. Man Utd's attacks were not sharp, so they were often blocked from a distance by Bournemouth, or the home players who finished were from difficult positions to score.
Man Utd's defense system was quite poor, which made it easy for Bournemouth's counter-attacks to threaten Onana's goal. In the 24th minute, Solanke headed the ball into Man Utd's net but the away team's goal was disallowed due to offside.
Man Utd's play was deadlocked and a second goal was always imminent. In the 39th minute, after McTominay's wrong pass, the away team counter-attacked quickly, Solanke finished by sending the ball beyond Onana's reach and hitting the post.
After a weak first half, Man Utd continued to "attack weakly, defend loosely" in the second half. Realizing that Martial had been playing poorly for a long time, coach Ten Hag sent Hojlund in as a substitute in the 56th minute, but Man Utd's performance still did not improve.
Bournemouth defended solidly and patiently waited for a counter-attack opportunity. In the 68th minute, from a quick counter-attack by the away team, Tavernier crossed the ball for Billing to head the ball into Man Utd's net from a distance of 5 meters.
Premier League round 16 results on December 10. |
Just 5 minutes after scoring the second goal, Bournemouth scored the third. From a corner kick, Senesi comfortably headed the ball into the net from 6m, making the score 3-0. The third goal of the away team was the end of Man Utd's hopes of getting a point.
In the 79th minute, coach Ten Hag brought on Rashford, Pellistri and Evans to replace Garnacho, Antony and Shaw. However, these adjustments did not help Man Utd play better, so the home team did not even get a consolation goal.
After round 16, Man Utd still only has 27 points and is in 6th place. Bournemouth has 19 points, in 13th place.
Losing the match, Man Utd continued to set a sad record. This is the first time Manchester United have lost a Premier League match at Old Trafford by 3 goals or more against a team in the bottom half of the table and also the first loss in MU's history to Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have now lost 35 home games since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 title-winning season. During the Scot's 21-year reign, United were beaten at Old Trafford just 34 times.
Senesi celebrates after scoring against Man Utd. (Source: Getty) |
It is worth mentioning that Man Utd's losing scenario "repeated" as when facing "underdog" teams like Crystal Palace. Holding the ball a lot, but not creating opportunities against an active, dense defense and being counter-attacked in high-level pressing phases of the opposing team's strikers, leading to a goal.
It is also a difficult start to a crucial week for Man United manager Ten Hag as they prepare to face Bayern Munich in their final UEFA Champions League group stage game, before travelling to Anfield to face Liverpool next weekend.
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