Match ends, Manchester United 5, Bournemouth 2.
Man UtdManchester United5BournemouthAFC Bournemouth2
Mason Greenwood scored twice in the Premier League for the first time as Manchester United came from behind to beat Bournemouth 5-2 and increase the Cherries' relegation worries.
Greenwood, 18, equalised for the hosts after Junior Stanislas' shock 15th-minute opener before scoring United's fourth with a superb effort after half-time when he took on Diego Rico on the edge of the area and cut a right-footed shot back across goal into the far corner.
Marcus Rashford had put United 2-1 in front from the penalty spot and Anthony Martial then increased the advantage with a brilliant curling effort into the top corner just before the break.
In an action-packed game, Joshua King pulled one back for Bournemouth with a penalty four minutes after the interval, but Eddie Howe's men crumbled to an eighth successive away defeat after Arnaut Danjuma had what would have been an equaliser disallowed for offside.
Bruno Fernandes scored United's fifth with a free-kick from the edge of the area.
- How good are Man Utd's free-scoring front three?
- Reaction from Old Trafford and the rest of Saturday's Premier League games
United front three outscoring Liverpool's
It was the first time United had scored five in a Premier League game since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first match in charge, a 5-1 win at Cardiff in December 2018.
It also extended their unbeaten run to 16 games, stretching back to the home defeat by Burnley on 22 January.
Martial and Rashford - who netted for the first time since the resumption - both have 20 goals for the season and, together with Greenwood's contribution of 15, they have now scored four more than champions Liverpool's much-vaunted front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino in 2019-20.
United have not scored six since 2011 but came close to achieving it on Saturday. Rashford had a second goal ruled out for offside and keeper Aaron Ramsdale produced smart saves in injury-time to turn away a Paul Pogba free-kick and a Fernandes shot that was heading for the corner.
It is the first time the hosts have won three successive Premier League games this season and they seem to be hitting form at exactly the right time as they chase a top-four finish.
Defensive issues remain for United
Former skipper Roy Keane reacted to the goal United conceded at Tottenham last month by saying defender Harry Maguire and goalkeeper David de Gea should not be allowed to return home on the team bus, so appalled was the Irishman by their tame efforts.
It is fair to assume Keane would not have been impressed by Bournemouth's opener either.
Maguire lost possession inside his own box before being nutmegged by Stanislas close to the goalline, and the Bournemouth man then managed to squeeze the ball past De Gea at his near post.
The same United pair then combined to mess up what should have been a routine clearance that would have resulted in a first-half equaliser for the Cherries had Dominic Solanke not been flagged offside.
Solskjaer heaped praise on his defence in his programme notes but, on this evidence, there is work to do before they can be classed in remotely the same bracket as Liverpool and Manchester City.
Familiar problems for Cherries
Bournemouth have been damaged by the twin problem of giving away easy goals at one end while failing to score at the other.
Even though there was achievement in taking the lead at Old Trafford for the first time in the club's history, there was an air of inevitability about what followed. After all, Eddie Howe's side were also in front at Liverpool in March, only to concede twice before the break on their way to defeat.
While United's front three had scored 51 times before kick-off and each found the net again on Saturday, Bournemouth's starting line-up had only managed eight goals between them this season.
Their spirited start to the second half, when they briefly thought they were level, proved manager Howe is still able to get a response from his team, but they have now collected only one point from eight matches.
Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City visit the Vitality Stadium next week and, with a trip to second-placed Manchester City to follow, it is going to need a massive reversal in form for Bournemouth to preserve their top-flight status.
Man of the match - Mason Greenwood (Man Utd)
'We would have scored more if fans had been here' - what they said
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: "We didn't stress after falling behind because we know we can score goals.
"It was exciting, attacking football in front of the Stretford End. Unfortunately there were no fans. If there were fans here we probably would have scored a few more. The energy in the team, the pace and the skills - I'm very happy."
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe: "It was a strange game. There were a lot of incidents. I thought we were a genuine threat and I didn't see that result coming after the start we made.
"We lost our way defensively and conceded bad goals before half-time. The run of results we have been on has been really tough, really poor.
"I saw signs that the attacking side of our game is still there, but defensively we were stretched."
Greenwood joins Premier League royalty - the stats
- Mason Greenwood has now scored eight league goals for United in 2019-20; among players aged 18 and younger, only Michael Owen (twice), Robbie Fowler and Wayne Rooney have scored more in a Premier League season.
- United have won three consecutive league games for the first time since they won all of their first six under Ole Gunnar SolskjĂŚr from December 2018 to January 2019.
- Bournemouth have become only the second side to lose 20 points from leading positions in this season's Premier League, after West Ham (22).
- This was the first time Manchester United scored five or more goals in a home league match since 26 December 2011, when they beat Wigan Athletic 5-0.
- Junior Stanislas' opener for Bournemouth was the first time United had conceded in 500 minutes at Old Trafford since Jay Rodriguez scored against them for Burnley in January.
What's next?
Manchester United's next game is against another relegation-threatened side, Aston Villa, at Villa Park on Thursday (20:15 BST). Bournemouth entertain Tottenham on the same day (18:00).
- Radio 1's Movie Mixtapes: Ali Plumb delivers top tracks from legendary films
- Grounded with Louis Theroux: Comedian and actor Chris O'Dowd joins from LA to chat to Louis
Line-ups
Man Utd
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1de Gea
- 29Wan-Bissaka
- 2LindelĂśfSubstituted forBaillyat 45'minutes
- 5Maguire
- 23Shaw
- 6Pogba
- 31MaticSubstituted forFredat 67'minutes
- 26GreenwoodSubstituted forJamesat 75'minutes
- 18Bruno Fernandes
- 10RashfordSubstituted forIghaloat 80'minutes
- 9MartialSubstituted forMataat 80'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Bailly
- 8Mata
- 15Pereira
- 17Fred
- 21James
- 22Romero
- 25Ighalo
- 39McTominay
- 53Williams
Bournemouth
Formation 4-4-2
- 12Ramsdale
- 15A SmithSubstituted forStaceyat 77'minutes
- 5AkĂŠ
- 26Kelly
- 21Rico
- 20BrooksSubstituted forDanjuma Groeneveldat 45'minutes
- 16L CookSubstituted forWilsonat 66'minutes
- 8LermaBooked at 31mins
- 19StanislasSubstituted forGoslingat 66'minutes
- 9SolankeSubstituted forBillingat 66'minutes
- 7King
Substitutes
- 1Boruc
- 4Gosling
- 6Surman
- 14Danjuma Groeneveld
- 17Stacey
- 22Wilson
- 29Billing
- 42Travers
- 44Surridge
- Referee:
- Mike Dean
Match Stats
Home TeamMan UtdAway TeamBournemouth
- Possession
- Home69%
- Away31%
- Shots
- Home19
- Away7
- Shots on Target
- Home10
- Away3
- Corners
- Home8
- Away3
- Fouls
- Home3
- Away12
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Manchester United 5, Bournemouth 2.
Post update
Offside, Manchester United. Juan Mata tries a through ball, but Paul Pogba is caught offside.
Post update
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Aaron Ramsdale.
Post update
Attempt saved. Fred (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Bruno Fernandes.
Post update
Offside, Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes tries a through ball, but Juan Mata is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt saved. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Fred.
Post update
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Aaron Ramsdale.
Post update
Attempt saved. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
Post update
Daniel James (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Dan Gosling (Bournemouth).
Post update
Foul by Paul Pogba (Manchester United).
Post update
Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Jack Stacey.
Post update
Luke Shaw (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Harry Wilson (Bournemouth).
Post update
Offside, Bournemouth. Aaron Ramsdale tries a through ball, but Joshua King is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt missed. Odion Ighalo (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Bruno Fernandes with a through ball.
Post update
Attempt saved. Luke Shaw (Manchester United) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Paul Pogba.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester United. Juan Mata replaces Anthony Martial.
Comments
Join the conversation
Wish Bournemouth the best, a plucky side and I'm hoping they can stay up, but they need to do more in their remaining games.
Top 4 race starting to look REALLY exciting now!
2 minutes ago
Man U win against small teams, can only draw against Spuds, and their fans think they are back in the big time
Really itâs the small teams we have lost points to,we have beat City,Leicester,Chelsea and first team to take points off Liverpool this season
Enjoyable game to watch except for VAR sucking the fun out of any goal, with a 5min wait each time. Overhaul needed. Technology shouldnt be noticed, but each game the jobsworths at VAR want to be front and centre.
Attitude is spot on from every squad player.
Still more hard work to do but getting much better. Quickly too!
Loving the youngsters in amongst it all.
Mason Greenwood is a great prospect..
For England too....
Mason... what a talent.!!!
Bournemouth look doomed.
Rashford, Martial, Greenwood = 54 goals
Great game, AFCB gave it a real go but they don't have the quality there anymore.
2 wins for United and Liverpool got thrashed at City, its turning out to be a brilliant week.
And scousers wonder why so many people despise them...