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AFC Bournemouth defeated Manchester United 1-0 in a Premier League match at the Vitality Stadium yesterday. The win took Bournemouth to the 7th position in the league table; they now have 16 points from 11 matches. On the other hand, United dropped to the 10th position with 13 points from 11 matches.
The result is a setback for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team after three consecutive wins. It is also their 4th defeat in 11 league matches this season so far.
On the other hand, Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth registered a creditable home win, their 4th in the season so far.
On a rain-soaked afternoon, United struggled to find their rhythm as Joshua King scored the only goal of the match just before half-time. United had over 50% ball possession in the match, and also had more than 15 attempts at the Bournemouth goal, but could not find the elusive equalizer.
Here, we take a look at the three reasons behind United’s defeat.
1. United’s passing suffered on a soggy pitch
The pitch was somewhat soggy because of the torrential rain, especially during the first half, and as a result United’s passing was not at its best. They made a number of wrong passes in crucial areas, and conceded possession on several occasions.
Midfielders Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira tried to play through passes to an advanced Anthony Martial, who played as the centre-forward, but most of their passes were not accurate enough. Some of those passes got intercepted by the Bournemouth defenders as well.
Although United maintained an 80% passing accuracy in the first half, that was a statistical anomaly of sorts as some of their through passes did not reach the desired destination. The torrential rainfall was partially responsible for that, as United struggled to put their act together in the middle third of the pitch.
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2. Dour and effective defending by Bournemouth
Bournemouth looked desperate to earn at least a point from the very beginning of the match, and did not allow United much free space in the middle third. They defended deep and thwarted many moves by United with timely interceptions and interventions.
Centre-back Steve Cook was brilliant yesterday, and stopped many United moves with tough tackles and robust challenges. He saw a yellow card because of a harsh tackle, but ultimately succeeded in his objective as United failed to find the net.
However, it must also be mentioned that United could not make enough penetrations into the penalty box in the first half. The likes of Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira tried to test the Bournemouth goalkeeper from outside the penalty box, which wasn't good enough.
The Bournemouth goalie made some crucial saves, and their defenders put their bodies on the line line in order to block the shots by United. The home team’s dour and brave defending did prevented United from opening the floodgates.
3. Inability to play enough crosses into the box
United could not play enough crosses into the penalty box in order to test the Bournemouth defence. Daniel James started the match in a lively fashion and managed to play a few crosses from the right flank during the opening 20 minutes of the match. However, he did not do much thereafter, and had to be taken off in the second half.
Meanwhile United’s full backs could not go into overlaps regularly, and preferred to stay in their own half for a majority of the match. Aaron Wan-Bissaka struggled to go ahead, and played the majority of the match as a de facto third centre-back. He was also mainly responsible for the Bournemouth goal, as he failed to mark his man inside the penalty box.
During the last 15 minutes of the match, McTominay played as the left-back and Ashley Young as the right-back. Jesse Lingard, Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams were introduced in a desperate move by Solskjaer, but to no avail.
The last 10-15 minutes of the match also saw centre-back Harry Maguire venturing forward repeatedly in order to put his aerial prowess to good use. Greenwood also managed to hit the woodwork from a cross, but could not ensure a point for the Red Devils.
