MU ‘raised the white flag’ in the race for top 4

On the night of April 13, MU only had 1 point after a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth, thereby still being 10 points behind the top 4 after 33 rounds.

MU had another performance that left fans bored. In the middle line with Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo almost failed to complete the task of dispute and interception and let the defense constantly suffer from face-to-face situations from Bournemouth.

The host continuously penetrated the position of young player Willy Kambwala and had up to 15 shots in the first half alone, a number 3 times higher than MU and 2 of them became goals. In the 16th minute, Kambwala slipped and allowed Dominic Solanke to shoot past Andre Onana.

20 minutes later, it was Kambwala who made a marking error again. Justin Kluivert comfortably aligned and fired a powerful shot, doubling the gap for Bournemouth.

During the live commentary, former player Frank De Boer did not hesitate to criticize MU: “Most of them play below average football. If you are a midfielder playing with MU receiving the ball on the wing, there is a very high possibility that you can freely hold the ball and dribble straight into the restricted area.

Compared to the number of dangerous situations faced, conceding 2 goals can be considered a success for MU in the first 45 minutes. Without Onana’s excellent reflexes, the away team would have broken the match early.

On the offensive front, MU did not have a single clear coordination phase. The “Red Devils” only had 2 significant situations in the first half, both originating from Bruno Fernandes. In the 31st minute, the Portuguese midfielder took advantage of the confusion to equalize 1-1. In stoppage time, number 8 was denied a long shot by the bar.

In the second half, Bournemouth proactively retreated their formation to defend. At this time, MU could hold the ball in the middle of the field. However, the away team’s attacks were too sporadic. Rashford continued to bore fans with cumbersome handling, while Hojlund almost disappeared in front of Bournemouth’s massive defense.

MU was completely deadlocked but got lucky again in the 65th minute. Mainoo’s long shot hit Adam Smith’s hand in the penalty area. A penalty is awarded. Bruno took advantage to complete the double and equalize the score 2-2.

The drama ramped up in the last minutes. The referee pointed to the 11 meter mark, when Kambwala knocked down a home player. However, VAR stepped in and saved MU from a penalty, when determining the foul point was outside the restricted area.