Manchester United have lost again. After a short spell of good results and wins against Serbia’s Partizan, relegation-threatened Norwich and Chelsea, the loss came again. This time, it was to Bournemouth at their Dean Court, as Joshua King scored the only goal of the match, just a minute or so before the end of the first half.
This Saturday match showed once again how far United are from the top English clubs, as a continuous loop of unimaginative performances restarted yet again and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team simply could not make anything good happen in those 90 minutes.
Same Old Problems
Manchester United are showing the same old problems yet again. Even in some of these matches they actually won, most notably in Belgrade, the Devils were not creating well enough and that was particularly visible in Bournemouth. Solskjaer’s team almost did not create anything on their own and that is something that is becoming a mantra in these match reports.
Mason Greenwood did hit a post late on, but that was from a tough position and after the opposition’s mistake, but more importantly, it was that feeling that United would not create anything good enough for another 90 minutes that hurt the most.
The central midfield of Scott McTominay and Fred can have some good days, especially against teams like Norwich, but here they showed once again that those things they do are not enough. United need some to break the lines with their passing, someone to take measured risks in possession.
Lindelöf Returns To His Previous Self
Victor Lindelöf’s performances are returning to those of his first six months at Manchester United. Against Bournemouth he only confirmed that, with a defensive mistake that led to King’s goal and Bournemouth’s winner. He was all over the place, his positioning obviously poor and he continued showing that he, ultimately, is a limited player.
With Axel Tuanzebe doing well before his injury, once he returns, it would not be a huge shock to see him become a preferred centre-back in Solskjaer’s eyes.
United Do Not Exploit James
Daniel James was one of those “weapons’ United could have used and should have used better in their search for a goal. Early on, there were a couple of situations when James was escaping his opponent with ease, but the final pass towards him was eluding him. It never truly came.
After those opening 15 or 20 minutes, he never really became the focus of his teammates, with the game being shifted more towards the left flank and Marcus Rashford’s side.
Bournemouth Deserve Win
In the end, the main takeaway from this match is that Bournemouth deserved the win. They created more and better chances. Joshua King did not only have that great opportunity when he scored, but he also had one in the second half when David De Gea made a wonderful save.
United’s performance is another example of this team simply not being good enough. We all know they will have their ups and downs, but that does not mean they should get a free pass because of that.
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