4 Talking Points From Manchester United's Win At Bournemouth

Manchester United returned to winning ways in the Premier League courtesy of a 2-0 victory away to Bournemouth on Wednesday night.

United entered the clash at the Vitality Stadium off the back of a shock 1-0 home defeat to the league’s bottom side West Bromwich Albion at the weekend.

The Red Devils secured all three points against Eddie Howe’s side, however, with Chris Smalling and Romelu Lukaku on the scoresheet.

Below are four talking points from the clash on the south coast.

Mourinho makes seven changes from West Brom defeat

Jose Mourinho hinted ahead of the match that he would ring the changes following the West Brom defeat, and that was indeed the case as the Portuguese made seven alterations to the team that started at the weekend.

Only David de Gea, Smalling, Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera kept their spots, with Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw and Marouane Fellaini among those given starts despite the uncertainty surrounding their futures.

Mourinho insisted that his team selection was with the view to giving players the chance to win a spot in his XI for the Tottenham Hotspur match, rather than simply resting certain personnel ahead of the FA Cup semi-final. That said, the United boss did namecheck Nemanja Matic before kickoff at the Vitality Stadium as one of those certain to start at Wembley this weekend.

Darmian, Shaw and Fellaini have all faced criticism this season, but all three were impressive in the first 45 minutes. Darmian really struggled in the early stages of the second half as Bournemouth pressed though, with the Italian caught out on far too many occasions down the right.

Darmian’s lack of coordination was perhaps the only negative of the night, with Phil Jones also having an excellent match as the Red Devils secured all the points with a strong performance on the south coast.

United simply must keep Martial and Rashford

Various reports in recent weeks have linked Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford with moves away from United. Indeed, the pair are both said to be frustrated by their lack of starting action since Alexis Sanchez joined the Red Devils in early 2018.

Sanchez has hardly set Old Trafford alight since his arrival, but Mourinho prefers the Chilean’s experience and know-how to the youthful exuberance of Martial and Rashford. Both players were given starts on Wednesday night, however, as Mourinho shuffled his pack following the West Brom defeat.

It was Rashford’s 46th United appearance of the season, but just his second Premier League start since Boxing Day. Martial, meanwhile, was in for his 17th league start of the campaign. A sensational piece of work from Rashford saw the England international rob Nathan Ake on the touchline in the 27th minute before attempting to find the bottom corner, but Asmir Begovic made the save.

The visitors were ahead shortly after though, and both Martial and Rashford were big threats in the opening 45 minutes. That continued early in the second period as the former threatened twice down the left, and Bournemouth simply could not deal with the Frenchman when he turned on the gas.

Lukaku joined Martial and Rashford for the final 30 minutes, and all three linked in the 65th minute before the latter had a strike deflected wide. Lukaku made it 2-0 in the 70th minute, however, and Martial was involved once again with his delicate touch releasing Pogba inside the Bournemouth half of the field.

Pogba keeps it simple in effective performance

Much has been made about Pogba’s performances in recent months, with the midfielder going from one extreme to another. He was excellent in the second half against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, but was hauled off during a disappointing performance against West Brom on Sunday afternoon.

Pogba took too many touches during a poor showing at Old Trafford against the Baggies. There was nothing spectacular about Pogba’s display on Wednesday night, but he was good on the ball, and used his physical power to make it difficult for Bournemouth’s central two to get into the match.

A brilliant piece of work early in the second half saw the former Juventus midfielder release Rashford, but the attacker’s cross was ultimately cleared. Effortlessly gliding through the midfield, this was much more like it from Pogba, who provided a brilliant assist for Lukaku to double United’s lead before leaving the field in the 80th minute.

The frustration stems from the fact that the 25-year-old has the ability to be one of the best central midfielders in the world. Ironically, the most expensive players are supposed to produce incredible moments, but one of Pogba’s best games for a fair few months came from him keeping it simple.

Bournemouth’s struggles against top four continue

There is no doubting that it has been another successful season for Bournemouth, who will still believe that they can push into the top half of the Premier League table in the final weeks of the campaign.

A total of 38 points from 35 matches has left them in 11th spot, and they have three winnable matches against Southampton, Swansea City and Burnley before the end of the season. Howe has worked miracles at the Vitality Stadium, but if the Cherries are to continue moving forward then they need to find a way of picking up results against the so-called bigger teams in the league.

Indeed, Bournemouth have now lost all eight Premier League matches this season against the current top four – conceding 21 times and scoring just twice. Tottenham Hotspur beat them 4-1 at the Vitality Stadium last month, and United proved too strong for the hosts on Wednesday night.

Jordan Ibe had the home side’s first opportunity of the night in the 11th minute, but the former Liverpool attacker fired wide of the post following smart work from Callum Wilson, who took Jermain Defoe’s spot in the XI. Howe’s team found it difficult in the first half though, and entered the interval 1-0 behind.

Wilson had a huge chance to level the scores early in the second period when Josh King delivered a fine cross into the box, but Shaw edged the striker off the ball. The Cherries were having plenty of the ball during a strong period, although Lukaku came off the bench to effectively decide the match.

Bournemouth will feel that they had a couple of good penalty shouts on the night, but there was to be no comeback for the home side on this occasion as they suffered their 15th Premier League defeat of the season.