Manchester United suffered a surprising 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth, rekindling pressure on manager Erik ten Hag. Despite a morale-boosting midweek victory over Chelsea, which had raised spirits at Old Trafford and presented an opportunity to equalize points with Manchester City, the team failed to capitalize on the chance.
The downturn started early as Dominic Solanke scored for Bournemouth within five minutes. Despite United’s initial attempts to respond, they struggled throughout the match, and the disappointing performance was met with boos from the crowd at the final whistle.
While James Tavernier had a goal disallowed for Bournemouth, and Solanke hit the post for a potential second, United’s repeated giveaways of possession kept them on the back foot.
Bournemouth added two more goals in the second half, with Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi exploiting vulnerabilities in United’s defense. Despite some promising moments from United in the second period, including blocked shots from Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes, as well as a threat from Alejandro Garnacho, any hopes of a comeback were dashed in a five-minute spell.
VAR intervened to disallow Luis Sinisterra’s stoppage-time goal for handball, sparing further misery for United. However, the home fans were left disheartened, and Bruno Fernandes received a late yellow card for dissent, resulting in his suspension for the upcoming trip to Liverpool. The match was characterized by sloppy play, petulance, and a sense of déjà vu for Manchester United.