Man Utd 0 Bournemouth 3: Erik ten Hag’s flops crash back down to earth in ELEVENTH loss of season vs rampant Cherries

BOURNEMOUTH finally took top Billing at the Theatre of Dreams – on another miserable day for Manchester United.

The Cherries had never won at Old Trafford before and had only ever been ahead there on one other occasion.

Reuters

Man Utd were left stunned as they were hammered 3-0 at home by Bournemouth[/caption]

Reuters

The Red Devils were outplayed just days after dominating Chelsea[/caption]

Yet Andoni Iraola’s men went in front inside five minutes here through Dominic Solanke and barely looked back all afternoon.

Danish midfielder Philip Billing made the points safe before Marcos Senesi completed United’s humiliation.

At the start of a week which could define their season, it could not have been much more embarrassing for Erik ten Hag’s men.   

They were booed off and now face a Champions League salvage mission on Tuesday night against Bayern Munich and then travel to Liverpool next Sunday.

Just when they looked to be turning a corner, it is back to square one for the Red Devils.

And to think Ten Hag was celebrating winning manager of the month just 24 hours before this horror show.  

The former Ajax boss sprang a surprise in his team selection by leaving both Marcus Rashford and big money summer buy Rasmus Hojlund on the bench.

Starting instead was the much-maligned Anthony Martial – a move that left the regulars scratching their heads.

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EPA

United were outplayed as plucky Bournemouth picked up a first-ever win at Old Trafford[/caption]

Reuters

Dominic Solanke needed just five minutes to open the scoring[/caption]

Bournemouth have never won at Old Trafford – but arrived in decent form having won three and drawn one of their last four games.

Boss Andoni Iraola was part of the Athletic Bilbao team who dumped United out of the Europa League back in 2012.

And he would have been delighted by the way his Cherries went about their work here.

Inside the first couple of minutes, Solanke went over in the box under a challenge from Andre Onana but the ref was unmoved and VAR agreed.

But they were ahead in the fifth minute as Scott McTominay was beaten to the ball by Lewis Cook, who burst past Sofyan Amrabat.

His low cross from the right touched in cleverly by Solanke at the near post – but it was far too easy for him to score his eighth of the season.

It was only the second time the Cherries have been in front at the Theatre of Dreams – with the last time coming in 2020 when they ended up losing 5-2.

United tried to hit straight back with Harry Maguire sending a looping header that had to be touched over by Neto.

But Bournemouth were defending well while also posing a threat of their own on the break.

And in many ways United were fortunate to only be a goal behind at the break.

Philip Billing doubled Bournemouth’s lead with 20 minutes remainingRex

Marcos Senesi made it 3-0 five minutes laterGetty

Marcus Tavernier nodded in the rebound after Onana had only parried a Solanke header – but luckily for United the linesman’s flag was up.

Minutes later Tavernier was booked for time wasting as he prepared to take a corner – even though we had not even reached the half hour mark

From the resulting flag-kick Marcos Senesi flashed a header across goal but just wide of the far post.

And the visitors came closer still when Cook again teed up Solanke but this time his low show beat Onana but crashed against the post.

Iraola’s men were certainly good value for their lead – while United had rarely looked like adding to their meagre tally of 18 goals for the season.

Ten Hag chose to not to make any changes at half-time but by 10 minutes after the restart he had seen enough.

His decision to replace Martial with Hojlund was greeted by the loudest cheer of the afternoon by the home fans.

The £72million arrival from Atalanta has yet to break his duck in the Premier League but his arrival was a welcome sight.

McTominay – the two goal hero against Chelsea – could have rescued United again but this time his header was straight at Neto.

United started the game with Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford on the benchRex

AFP

The likes of Bruno Fernandes were unable to impose themselves on the game[/caption]

Hojlund saw a goalbound effort blocked while Diogo Dalot fired a shot into the side-netting when he surely should have crossed.

Yet the visitors were dealing comfortably with the threats posed by the home side and still looking useful going forward.

And midway through the second half they doubled their lead as a pass from Luke Shaw was intercepted by Solanke who worked it out to Tavernier.

His cross to the back post found Billing who easily outjumped Shaw to head beyond Onana.

Old Trafford was stunned into silence – but worse was to follow just five minutes later.

Tavernier’s corner from the right found the head of Senesi who was virtually unmarked as he thumped an emphatic header into the corner.  

That was the cue for many fans to head for the exits – a seventh league defeat of the campaign.

Deep into stoppage time a stray pass from Amrabat saw Bournemouth in again and Dango Outtara bundled the ball home.

Mercifully for United the ball had struck the hand of the Burkina Faso man and it was ruled out by the VAR.

The sad thing was it would not have flattered the visitors one bit. United were lucky to get away with three.

Getty

Andre Onana shipped more goals in another horror display[/caption]

PA

Erik ten Hag now faces crunch matches against Bayern Munich and Liverpool[/caption]

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