Football

Bournemouth vs Manchester United Player Ratings: Erik Ten Hag’s Men Take Huge Step Towards Finishing in the Top Four

Bournemouth vs Manchester United Player Ratings: Erik Ten Hag’s Men Take Huge Step Towards Finishing in the Top Four
Manchester United's Casemiro (left) and Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi in action during the Premier League match at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth. Picture date: Saturday May 20, 2023. - Photo by Icon sport

  • A wonderful strike from Casemiro in the opening ten minutes proves to be enough for all three points at the Vitality Stadium.
  • United now just need one more point to finish inside the Premier League’s top four following Liverpool’s draw at home with Aston Villa.
  • Bournemouth have now lost three games in a row but Premier League safety is secured.

Bournemouth Player Ratings: Moore misses great chance near the end for the Cherries

Neto 7/10 – Made some great saves throughout, most notably from a Bruno Fernandes volley. Couldn’t have done anything to prevent the goal.

Ilya Zabarnyi 6/10 – Was solid enough and dealt with Martial well.

Marcos Senesi 5/10 – Positionally suspect at times and ball-watched a lot.

Lloyd Kelly 7/10 – Was too big and strong for Antony down United’s right flank.

Adam Smith 6/10 – Defended well against Sancho but struggled against Garnacho. Overlapped well to try and give his team an attacking threat.

Jaidon Anthony 6/10 – Lacked composure on the ball when he had opportunities to create something but worked hard defensively.

Jefferson Lerma 4/10 – Looked like he was just waiting for the game to end from the first minute. A very passive performance.

Lewis Cook 5/10 – Lucky not to see red for a challenge on Christian Eriksen in the second half. The challenge summed up his performance – reckless and sloppy.

Ryan Christie 5/10 – Didn’t really have an impact on the game and was rightfully subbed off early in the second half

David Brooks 7/10 – A hugely impressive display considering he’s been out of action for so long. Doesn’t look like he’s lost any sharpness and will be like a new signing for Bournemouth next season. Tested de Gea with a wicked effort in the second half.

Dominic Solanke 6/10 – Had a decent effort saved by de Gea in the first half but was marked out of the game by Varane for the most part.

Substitutes

Kieffer Moore 5/10 – Spurned Bournemouth’s best chance of the game late on.

Dango Ouattara 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Matias Vina 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Manchester United Player Ratings: Casemiro masterclass seals the win

David de Gea 8/10 – De Gea’s best performance in months. Looked more assured on the ball and made some big saves for his team. The clean sheet earned him the Golden Glove.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka 8/10 – As excellent as usual defending and continues to impress more and more going forward. His overlapping and underlapping runs caused problems for Bournemouth throughout.

Victor Lindelof 8/10 – Another excellent display from Lindelof who has been sublime in recent weeks next to Varane.

Raphael Varane 8/10 – United just look a lot calmer with him at the back. Didn’t put a foot wrong.

Luke Shaw 7/10 – A solid display from the England fullback. Got forward more in the first half but was sensible in the second.

Casemiro 9/10 – His best performance in well over a month. Started all of United’s attacks and stopped most of Bournemouth’s.

Christian Eriksen 6/10 – Far too passive at times but it was his ball that set up the winner.

Bruno Fernandes 4/10 – Fernandes’ worst performance of the season but his team bailed him out. Lacked decisiveness and lost the ball on countless occasions.

Antony 4/10 – Didn’t get past Lloyd Kelly once was far too predictable when he picked up the ball around the box. Inexplicably ran away from goal when he was put through on goal late on by Weghorst.

Jadon Sancho 5/10 – Lacked intensity and was shown up by Garnacho when the Argentinian was substituted on for him.

Anthony Martial 5/10 – A mediocre display from the man who doesn’t seem to be able to sprint anymore. Despite recent praise from his manager, the Frenchman is more than likely playing in his final few games for the club.

Substitutes

Wout Weghorst 6/10 – Held the ball up well and his pressing is impressive.

Alejandro Garnacho 7/10 – Only wants to do one thing when he gets the ball and that’s to beat his man and run towards the goal. A breath of fresh air.

Scott Mctominay 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Fred 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Bournemouth vs Manchester United Match Summary and Highlights

Manchester United took a giant step towards Champions League qualification on Saturday afternoon after beating Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium. A ninth-minute goal from Casemiro was enough to seal the win for United, who managed to see the game out with minimal fuss.

The one and only goal of the game was a thing of beauty, too. Christian Eriksen clipped the ball over the top of the Bournemouth defence only for it to take a nick off Marcos Senesi’s head which forced Casemiro to switch position, swivel and smash a bicycle kick into the roof of the net.

It seemed to spur the Brazilian on, too, as he was at his imperious best for the remainder of the match – something that will please Erik Ten Hag immensely after a run of iffy performances from his midfield dynamo.

The remaining 80 minutes were relatively easy for the away side, but their failure to kill the Bournemouth off gave the hosts hope until the very end. And they nearly snatched a point in the 85th minute when Kieffer Moore ran through on goal only to be denied by David de Gea who pulled off a big save for his side.

Player of the Match: Casemiro

Since returning from his latest suspension, Casemiro has failed to get back up to speed and play at the same level he had played at for the vast majority of the season. The 31-year-old looked firmly back to his best this afternoon though, and was superb at putting out fires all over the pitch every time Bournemouth tried to gather momentum. His goal, which was a majestic bicycle kick, also proved to be the game-winner and the goal that took United within a point of Champions League football.


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