Bournemouth vs Manchester United: Hits and Flops from the game

Manchester United made a trip to the Dean Court on early kickoff this game week, and the match ended in a 2-1 victory for United as Rashford scored the winner in the second last minute of the game after Pogba created a nice chance which was not cleared by the Bournemouth backline, and the substitute was grateful for the error and tapped it in two yards from goal through the flailing arms of Asmir Begovic.

The game was quite a contest as Bournemouth put up quite a fight during the initial stages of the game, and dominated proceedings against the stuttering giants for the first half an hour of the game, carving them nicely and at will in the opening stages, and scored the first goal of the night through a neat finish by Callum Wilson by a brilliant pass from Junior Stanislas.

Bournemouth looked by far the better team, and certainly had more intent to win on the afternoon, until Ashley Young and Alexis Sanchez teamed up on the right wing to create the first real opening for the United forwards, and it was the red-hot Anthony Martial who tapped in from close range as Alexis Sanchez cut the ball in for him from the right wing. Here are the hits and flops from the game.

#1 Hit: Anthony Martial

Martial brought United back in the game, and he has been collecting up quite some steam before big games against Juventus and Manchester City coming up next.

Anthony Martial scored his 5th goal in four games, as he continued his rich vein of form at the Vitality Stadium in a hotly contested tie, and pulled his side level on the 35th minute by being in the right place at the right time, and is making the most of the minutes he's being given by the manager.

He has made a very strong case for starting in the crucial upcoming fixtures as they travel to the Juventus Stadium next Thursday, and pay a visit to their 'noisy neighbours' at the Etihad next Saturday,and barring any injuries, Anthony Martial can expect his name to be one of the first on the team sheet.

#2 Flop: Nathan Ake

Nathan Ake kept a faltering Manchester United attack at bay for all but two moments in the game, and that cost Bournemouth.

Manchester United team news came in an hour before kickoff, and it was revealed that Romelu Lukaku was not included in the matchday squad due to a mysterious injury he suffered in training leading, which the manager said: "needed to be examined in the coming few days."

While the big Belgian hasn't scored since early September, he is quite a menace for the opposition defenders with his pace and strength which allows others around him to have a larger impact, but he was not playing, which would have given Bournemouth the perfect opportunity to shut out their opposition, who have been struggling lately. But Nathan Ake, who otherwise a very solid defender, faltered twice in the afternoon which led to Manchester United first levelling, and later scoring the winner.

Ake was brilliant in shutting out spaces for Sanchez to run into, but failed to track his run once, and was punished in the 35th minute, and failed to clear the ball in the 92nd minute, and was duly punished by youngster Marcus Rashford.

#3 Hit: Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford came on for Juan Mata early in the second half and ended up scoring the winner deep in stoppage time.

The youngster who just turned 21 just three days earlier made his appearance from the bench tonight at the Vitality, despite United lacking the presence of anyone who was accustomed to being the focal point of the attack, and he could've been justified if he felt hard done by that.

He missed a golden opportunity shortly after coming on as he failed to put the ball in the net after a brilliant Ashley Young free-kick hit the woodwork and fell kindly to the young Englishman, who failed to score from close range, but he didn't fluff his lines the second time he was presented with a clear-cut opportunity by Paul Pogba and he duly obliged by turning it in for only his second goal of the league season.

#4 Flop: Eddie Howe

Eddie Howe has done brilliantly as gaffer of Bournemouth and must feel hard done by Rashford's winner in injury time.

Eddie Howe has developed his Bournemouth side over the last six years since his appointment and won them promotion in the 2015/16 season when they defeated Manchester United for the first time outside of cup competition and only the second time in their history.

The Cherries started very brightly and could have won the game in the first half itself with a little more conviction in the final third. The manager deserves all the credit for fielding a very attacking lineup and wanting to take Manchester United to the distance at Dean Court today, but he failed to make any attacking changes and kept on the ineffective David Brooks who was not up to the level of his teammates and bringing on someone like Jermain Defoe, or Jordan Ibe could have really pushed a shaky United backline into committing more errors late on in the game.

#5 Hit: Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw turned up with another all-action display from left back, and he has received a new lease of life.

Luke Shaw seems to have really stepped his game up a couple of levels this season, and his performances deserve some recognition as he has been quite the revelation since the start of the season for United.

He was solid again tonight and was a constant threat on the overlap in attack and was solid in defence, quick to shut out most attacks that came from his wing.

He has gotten up and down the pitch and made the left flank his own against almost every opponent he has come up against so far this season and has been United's most consistent performer this season. He recently signed a new deal through 2023 with the Manchester club, coming with a huge pay raise, and he deserves every penny of it, as he has returned some sense of stability again at the left side of defence for Mourinho's men.