90min

X reacts as Man Utd slump to new low in Bournemouth drubbing

  • Man Utd lost 3-0 to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon
  • Cherries good value for their victory after humiliating their hosts
  • Erik ten Hag to face serious questions after dismal showing

By Sean Walsh

A testing day for Man Utd
A testing day for Man Utd / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
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Just when you start to think that maybe Manchester United have got their house in order, they go and do something unprecedented even by their own clownish standards.

Their 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth on Saturday was their first loss by such a margin against a team that started the day in the bottom half of the table. This was also the Cherries' first ever win at Old Trafford.

Well, you can't say that Erik ten Hag - Friday's recipient of the Premier League Manager of the Month award for November - isn't making history with the Red Devils.

After beating Chelsea 2-1 in midweek, hopes were high for United to kick on and further improve.

That sense of optimism around Old Trafford drifted away just five minutes into the game when Bournemouth went in front. Bruno Fernandes saw his terrible ball from the back cut out by Lewis Cook, and he crossed for Dominic Solanke to divert in.

Bournemouth were pressing their hosts off the park at times. The same could not be said for the languid Anthony Martial.

Towards the end of the first half, Solanke struck the post as Bournemouth threatened to double the lead.

Just before the hour mark, Ten Hag turned to his bench and threw on Rasmus Hojlund in place of Martial, much to the jubilation of the home fans.

But went from bad to worse for United when Bournemouth doubled their lead midway through the second half, with Philip Billing rising high over Luke Shaw to thump home a header.

Oh, but there was still time for much more calamity. Marcos Senesi grabbed Bournemouth's third, rising high to head in a corner.

There wasn't even a silver lining for home fans in regards to the weather - the Old Trafford roof was up to its old tricks amid a downpour in the north-west of England.

With United dragging themselves to a 3-0 defeat, captain Fernandes decided to talk his way into the referee's notebook, picking up his fifth yellow card of the season and ruling himself out of next week's trip to Liverpool.

Bournemouth even had time to put the ball in the net again, before Dango Ouattara's strike was ruled out for a handball before the it crossed the line.

United were booed off at the end of five minutes of stoppage time. Where do they go from here?

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