Bruno brace not enough to ease heat on Ten Hag
WHEN Ineos sit down to decide Erik ten Hag’s fate, they won’t be too worried about the chasm between Manchester United and the Premier League’s top three. Even missing out on the Champions League might not be fatal for the Dutchman.
But when they think about days like these, days when United were outclassed by Bournemouth, well that might be a different matter.
Not once, but twice this season. Bournemouth came away from Old Trafford with a well-deserved 3-0 victory in December, and they would not have been remotely flattered by a similar winning margin here at the Vitality Stadium.
Ten Hag said his players would have to learn from that experience, but once again United didn’t play like they were listening to him. Once again, they didn’t seem to be playing to a game plan either.
Ten Hag said: ‘This is not enough, we know that. When you come into the final stage of the season this is not enough.
‘The truth is we did not deserve more today. We have to do better, control the game, score goals and not give as many chances away.
‘We are all disappointed. We have to win our games and we have dropped too many unnecessary points in the last few games’
Bournemouth, on the other hand, look like a well-coached unit under Andoni Iraola whose only shortcoming was a failure to ram home their advantage. It has become a sideline sport to out-shoot United this season, and the Cherries managed it 20-8 here.
A more pertinent statistic, however, was that United scored with their only two efforts on goal as Bruno Fernandes twice dragged them back into the game. How often has the United skipper bailed his team out?
United were shambolic at times, particularly in the first half. Ten Hag will point to a never-ending injury crisis, but that is no excuse for playing like a bunch of strangers thrown together for the time.
Ten Hag may be under the impression that Ineos will keep him in charge next season but the jury is still out — and on this evidence he shouldn’t be making any assumptions.
Bournemouth were already well on top by the time they took the lead in the 16th minute. Alejandro Garnacho gave away possession halfway and Marcos Senesi fed the ball to Dominic Solanke.
United’s young centre-back Willy Kambwala slipped on the heavilywatered surface and Solanke had time to bury a shot beyond Andre Onana to rack up a club record 17th Premier League goal of the season.
Instead of waking United up, the goal just seemed to send them into even more of a spin. Onana had to save from Milos Kerkez and then Ryan Christie, while Luis Sinisterra and Christie fired just off target.
United’s equaliser, from their first genuine attack of the game just after the half-hour mark, was both scrappy and unexpected.
Fernandes got a foot to Garnacho’s low cross and the ball sat up invitingly for him to volley home from close range.
Again you thought United would make the most of the good fortune and come to their senses. Again they fell asleep. Dango Ouatarra had squandered another chance by the time Justin Kluivert restored Bournemouth’s lead five minutes later.
There was an acre of space between Diogo Dalot and Kambwala when Kluivert received the ball 20 yards from goal. Like Solanke, he had so much time to pick his spot.
The damage could have been even worse before half-time, but an unmarked Kerkez headed against the bar and Onana made a super reflex save to keep out — and hold — Kluivert’s close-range volley.
Fernandes also rattled the woodwork from range and he took responsibility for converting another undeserved United equalised in the 65th minute when Adam Smith was rather harshly penalised for handball after Kobbie Mainoo’s shot deflected off Christie. Fernandes rarely misses from the spot.
United actually finished a more even second half the stronger, but it looked like they would concede yet another late goal when Christie pushed the ball past Kambwala in the fifth minute of stoppage-time and went down as the two men collided.
Referee Tony Harrington pointed to the spot, but wasn’t Kambwala just standing his ground? Either way, VAR spotted that it was outside the area and Enes Unal’s free-kick came to nothing.
A winner would not have flattered Bournemouth in the slightest and that was the frustration for Iraola.
The Cherries boss said: ‘We didn’t take our chances, we had chances to finish with a better result. All the refereeing decisions were against us today.’
BOURNEMOUTH (4-2-3-1): Neto; Smith (Aarons 70), Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Ouattara (Faivre 70), Kluivert (Unai 76), Sinisterra (Kelly 39); Solanke.
Subs (not used): Travers, Hill, Scott, Billing, DaCosta. Booked: Senesi, Christie, Cook, Neto.
MAN UTD (4-2-3-1): Onana; Dalot, Kambwala, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka; Mainoo (Mount 78), Casemiro; Garnacho (Diallo 46), Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund. Subs (not used): Bayindir, Amass, Ogunneye, Amrabat, Eriksen, Forson, Wheatley. Booked: None. Referee: Tony Harrington. Attendance: 11,229.