Manchester United vs Bournemouth result: Victory masks over cracks but Mason Greenwood gets attack firing
Manchester United 5-2 Bournemouth: Forwards combine along with Marcus Rashford and another Bruno Fernandes free-kick to record a fourth consecutive victory and maintain their Champions League drive
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Your support makes all the difference.A tale of two teams that have been twisting in different directions played out as much at Old Trafford, Manchester United darting towards securing a Champions League spot while Bournemouth despairingly head towards the Championship.
As the rain bucketed down on Saturday afternoon, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could bask in the fact that his offence continues to prove they are fluid, explosive and ready to detonate against opposition defences.
The transformative Bruno Fernandes, ridiculously gifted Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are a throwback to the glory days of ‘Attack, Attack, Attack’ with Paul Pogba pulling the strings behind them.
In truth, they are also masking United’s defensive deficiencies with Harry Maguire and David De Gea again drawing facepalms - and no doubt an overflow of fury from Roy Keane.
Eddie Howe, meanwhile, was burdened by a fifth consecutive top-flight defeat - their 17th such result in the last 22 fixtures in the division.
It does not make for pretty reading and more painful will be the fact that the visitors weren’t especially bad here and yet were comprehensively beaten.
Bournemouth had just one fewer shot inside the box than United in the opening 45 and actually bucked their recent trend by scoring rather than conceding early.
Junior Stanislas had a shot blocked by Maguire, but reacted quickest to recover the rebound near the byline. He drew the world’s most expensive centre back in and ruthlessly nutmegged him before firing in past De Gea at the near post.
In a five-minute spell before the hour mark, United responded emphatically. Greenwood, a wonder of a natural finisher, displayed a fine first touch from Fernandes’ pass before his second scorched past Aaron Ramsdale.
There is a danger of overhyping and escalating the expectations on a young talent, but the teenager effortlessly echoes shades of Robbie Fowler. Greenwood’s ability to put in the back of the net is, as per Rashford described, “absolutely frightening.”
United went in front quickly after being awarded a penalty for Adam Smith’s handball. Fernandes let Rashford take it and the striker slotted into the bottom-right corner.
Bournemouth immediately responded to show they weren’t going to wilt, but David Brooks’ goal - in part due to questionable United defending - was disallowed due to Dominic Solanke being offside in the build-up.
As both rearguards seemed determined to socially distance from their task, there were fireworks in the final third.
Martial curled a stunner into the top corner for his 20th of the season after patient build-up play from United to bring up the half.
The start of the second period was chaotic - Arnaut Danjuma hit the post, before Joshua King slotted from the spot after a handball by substitute Eric Bailly.
The scoreboard read 3-2, with Bournemouth threatening to claw their way to a result.
They broke with venom, but Danjuma failed to hold his run when King played him in and his toe-poke finish past De Gea didn’t count.
The resistance was shattered with Bournemouth’s defence then becoming busier than their beach.
Greenwood dropped jaws and widened eyes again after Nemanja Matic found him with his back to goal. He swivelled away from attention to blast a rising drive past Ramsdale and into the top corner.
The forward’s eight goals this term is the most by a player aged 18 or younger in a Premier League season since Wayne Rooney scored nine for Everton in 2003-04.
Fernandes, core to this revitalised United, directed a free-kick over the wall and into the far corner to crown a five-star attacking showing, surviving a VAR review that showed Matic to have a foot offside that was deemed to have not interfered with Ramsdale’s view.
The scoreline could have been ballooned, but for some top Ramsdale saves.
The win keeps Solskjaer’s side firmly in the top-four fight, stretching their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 16. They are looking up, Bournemouth look destined to go down.
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