Jose Mourinho’s tenure at Manchester United started with a bang as the Red Devils swept past Bournemouth 3-1 at the Vitality Stadium to pick three points. While Juan Mata scored the first goal after a blunder by Simon Francis left him through on goal with absolutely no one to beat, Wayne Rooney’s header from an acute angle doubled their lead.
Then, the moment every Manchester United fan had been waiting for, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first goal in the Premier League – a grounded shot drilled into the side netting from outside the box to give United a 3-0 lead. However, Adam Smith then scored a beauty of a goal in the 69th minute to bring down the deficit to two goals.
United then comfortably strolled through the rest of the match which saw some commendable performances from Eric Bailly, Antonio Valencia and Marouane Fellaini (yes, you read it right!). Here’s how rest of the players fared in the match.
Bournemouth
Artur Boruc – 6/10
The goalkeeper had a decent first half, saving a good couple of shots from Rooney and co. He was good on the corners as well with his handling of the ball. However, he was unfortunate to concede the first goal, just before half-time and couldn’t do much in the second half as well.
Charlie Daniels – 6/10
The left-back started well and made some good runs forward initially. But as the match progressed, the searing runs from Valencia gave him a hard time as he was forced to stay back in his own half rather than go forward and attack.
Steve Cook – 5/10
Not a good performance from the centre-back as he was dominated by Ibrahimovic and Rooney on more than a couple of occasions.
Simon Francis – 4/10
A forgettable day of football for the Englishman as he played a huge part in United’s opening goal, gifting Mata the ball in front of an open goal. The fact that he was up against Ibrahimovic didn’t help much either.
Adam Smith – 6.5/10
Smith was one of the better performers for the Cherries on the day. Though he was troubled here and there by Martial’s trickery, he did well going forward and scored a gem of a goal.
Harry Arter – 6/10
Arter was full of running and covered a lot of the field, tracking back when needed and helping out his attackers as well. However, he was dominated by the likes of Ander Herrera and Fellaini in the midfield.
Andrew Surman – 5.5/10
Surman held the ball well and his passes were clean as well. However, he did not play much of a part going forward.
Lewis Cook – 6/10
The former Leeds United man had a decent Premier League debut. He was good on the ball and gave a glimpse of how good he can be in the coming years. The 19-year-old was taken off for Max Gradel in the 81st minute.
Joshua King – 5.5/10
The former United player showed good pace and was direct in his approach. However, his trickery helped him little as there was no end product.
Callum Wilson – 5/10
Not the kind of performance which made him a household name in England after he took the Championship by storm two years back. Tried to the trouble the United defence but was not allowed to do so by the pair of Bailly and Blind.
Jordon Ibe – 5/10
The former Liverpool player did not have the kind of debut he would have hoped for. Though he started the match well, but like his other teammates, his performance deteriorated in the second half and was then taken off for Benik Afobe in the 68th minute.
Substitutes
Lewis Grabban – 5.5/10
Grabban got an assist in the 22 minutes that he spent on the pitch, setting up Smith for Cherries’ only goal.
Benik Afobe – N/A
Did not make much of a difference after coming on for Ibe in the 68th minute.
Max Gradel – N/A
Came on for Lewis Cook in the 81st minute.
Manchester United
David de Gea – 6.5/10
De Gea didn’t have much to do in the match given the stellar performance his defenders put in. He was not able to save Bournemouth from snatching the clean sheet away from him, however, Smith should be given the credit for scoring a thunderous goal. He made a good save in the dying moments of the match as well to keep the scoreline at 3-1.
Luke Shaw – 6.5/10
Shaw played his first full 90 minutes in the Premier League since his horrifying injury last season. As always, he was full of pace and surely will grow in stature as the league progresses.
Daley Blind – 6.5/10
A calm and composed performance from the versatile Dutch player. He was good with his passing and quite visibly, his tackling has improved a lot as well. Blind will take a lot of confidence from this performance.
Eric Bailly – 8/10
What a brilliant debut in the Premier League for the Ivory Coast international. He made some crunching challenges and gave Bournemouth attackers minimal space to operate in. Such a performance will help him a lot in settling his nerves in the upcoming matches.
Antonio Valencia – 8/10
The Ecuadorian international has been in brilliant touch since the pre-season matches and he maintained his momentum to give a brilliant performance. He rocked the Cherries left-back with his marauding runs and sent in crosses at will.
Marouane Fellaini – 7/10
The Belgian gave a better performance than what we have seen from him in the past. Made some crucial interceptions and tackles but as usual, there were a few customary misplaced passes here and there.
Ander Herrera – 7/10
The Spaniard was lively throughout the match and dominated the midfield. He was creative with his passing and linked up well with Mata on the right as well.
Anthony Martial – 7/10
The Frenchman gave a commendable performance and was never short of running into the defenders like he usually he does. He ultimately ended up getting two assists, however, his shooting was a bit wayward.
Wayne Rooney – 7/10
The skipper had a decent start to the season as he struck a couple of shots. One of his shots, from close range, was saved by Boruc in the first half. Looks like he still has the hangover of the midfield role which he has played in the last couple of seasons, both for England and United. His header for the second goal was clever and perfectly placed.
Juan Mata – 8/10
Mata scored the opening goal for United, after Francis gifted him the ball in front of goal. The diminutive Spaniard was good on the ball and pulled the strings up top with his clever passing and linked up well with his teammates.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 7/10
The Swede announced his arrival in style. The usual back-heel passes, the clever runs, tracking back to get the ball and a long range goal. Zlatan gave a glimpse of the kind of damage he can inflict on the opponents, though he did not see much of the ball. His free-kick from just outside the box was saved brilliantly by Boruc, which could have been his second goal.
Substitutes
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – N/A
Mkhitaryan became the first Armenian player to play in the Premier League after he was brought on for Mata in the 75th minute.
Morgan Schneiderlin – N/A
Schneiderlin was brought on for Martial in the 85th minute.
Memphis – N/A
Memphis was brought on for Rooney in the 89th minute.
