Manchester United’s winning run was halted by former player Josh King as Bournemouth won 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Cherries took a shock lead just before the break as the former United forward netted a stunning goal. United put their hosts under some severe pressure but Eddie Howe’s men held on to claim their first victory against the Red Devils since December 2015.
Long range shots pepper Ramsdale’s goal early on
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s troops had a more comfortable start to the game on the South Coast and could have opened the scoring but Andreas Pereira slipped just as he was about to shoot from Daniel James’ cross. Fred also had an effort from the edge of the area but his powerful drive was deflected over.
The hosts had a penalty appeal in the early stages of the match as Ryan Fraser went down in the box but neither the referee or VAR awarded anything.
United continued to create the better opportunities though and James was the next to go close as he sent an effort fizzing wide.
Goal fit for a King
Despite their long wait for a goal, it was actually Eddie Howe’s troops that took the lead. Adam Smith’s cross was well-taken by King and he stayed composed to control the ball, flicked it over Aaron Wan-Bissaka and finish coolly underneath David De Gea.
The Cherries could well have doubled their lead on the hour as the ball deflected into the path of King again but he could not beat De Gea again. The ball then fell to Harry Wilson but the Spanish goalkeeper reacted well to deny the on-loan Liverpool man.
With United pressing for an equaliser, they were always susceptible to the counter-attack and Wilson almost profited as he cut inside and forced another excellent low stop out of De Gea.
Cherries hold firm to claim victory
The Red Devils continued to come on strong in the final few minutes and youngster Mason Greenwood almost snatched a point as his close-range effort cracked the post. Fred also had one final opportunity from outside of the area but Ramsdale hold firm as Bournemouth secured an impressive win to rise to sixth in the Premier League table.
Final Thoughts
This really was a perfect performance from Bournemouth. Despite being slightly under-par in the first-half, they scored a highly impressive goal just before the break. They then defended extremely well to hold onto what was a precious lead and claim a memorable victory over an in-form Manchester United side.
Match Report
AFC Bournemouth: Ramsdale (7); Rico (6), Ake (8), Cook (7), Smith (7); Fraser (7), Billing (7), Lerma (6), H. Wilson (7) (L. Cook (N/A), 86′); King (7), C. Wilson (6).
Manchester United: De Gea (7); Young (6), Maguire (6), Lindelöf (6), Wan-Bissaka (7) (Williams (N/A), 81′); Fred (6), McTominay (6); Rashford (6), Pereira (5) (Lingard (6), 68′), James (6) (Greenwood (N/A), 80′); Martial (5).
Goals: King (45′)
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Yellow Cards: Lerma (35′), Fred (35′), Cook (55′), Fraser (62′), Lindelöf (64′), Young (67′), C. Wilson (90+1′)
Red Cards: N/A
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
