Bournemouth 1-0 Man Utd: 3 talking points as the Cherries end the Red Devils’ mini revival | Premier League 2019/20

Bournemouth 1-0 Man Utd: 3 talking points as the Cherries end the Red Devils’ mini revival during their Premier League encounter earlier in the day.

Manchester United have had a very tough time in the Premier League this season. However, the side managed to fill their fans with hope after they strung together 3 consecutive away victories following their gutsy draw against Liverpool at home.

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Following their 1-1 draw against a rampaging Liverpool side, Manchester United beat Partizan, Norwich and Chelsea on the road. United fans who had long given up on the team, came out screaming in joy with their hopes renewed.

However, just when the fans began believing in the team, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men produced an absolute disaster to hand Bournemouth their first win in 6 matches. With their 3-win streak snapped, United fall to 8^th in the table as the scoreline read: Bournemouth 1-0 Man Utd.  Let us look at the 3 talking points from the match.

#3) United’s over reliance on set-pieces

Manchester United once boasted of the best attacking talents, not just in England but all over the world. The trio of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez once manned United’s attack. Now it is Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James who have taken the responsibility.

Unfortunately, the three are not blessed with the same talents or positional awareness as their predecessors. The young forwards do not have the vision for goals and have failed to penetrate the opposition defences regularly.

In fact, most of their goals seem to have come from set pieces and even then, they have squandered a lot of it. In their match today, the Red Devils did not look threatening at any point and even failed to register a single shot on target in the second half.

United have experimented with a few formations but they still seem unsure of what their best play is. 2 at the front and 5 at the back? Or 4 at the back with one in the front supported by 3 behind him. If United want to qualify for the Champions League, they will have to settle on a formation that maximises their goal scoring opportunities.