Thomas Hein
Full Time: Bournemouth 0-2 Manchester United
Manchester United put up a professional display against Bournemouth as Jose Mourinho made seven changes to the side that lost at home to West Bromwich Albion.
Bournemouth, on their part, seem relatively safe from the relegation spots and did start brightly as their forwards tried to put pressure on our defence.
However, it was Chris Smalling who opened the scoring in the first half after some neat passing from Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard.
Romelu Lukaku, who came off the bench, sealed the win for us with his 16th league goal of the season and kept us four points above our rivals Liverpool, who are in third place.
This was a much-needed lift after the shock at home last weekend and should give Mourinho a lot to think about which players should play against Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final.
There were a number of players that performed exceptionally well and here are the player ratings for the United side.
Manchester United Player Ratings
David de Gea – 7/10
De Gea barely had to do anything in the match as he kept yet another clean sheet for us. He should start in the FA Cup tie, no doubts about that.
Matteo Darmian – 6/10
Darmian was not his normal self at the back. Nothing too flashy and was a little subdued, not taking any risks.
Chris Smalling – 7/10
Smalling did have a few nervous moments in the game, especially in the opening minutes but his goal in the first half certainly calmed us down and he did get better as the match progressed.
Phil Jones – 7/10
The Englishman was playing his first game in almost two months and I expected him to be rusty. However, he did pretty well after a tough start. Jones made a few important blocks to ensure we kept our clean sheet.
Luke Shaw – 6.5/10
It was a bit of a surprise seeing Shaw start the game and the former Saint did alright at the back. He was unspectacular, just like Darmian and in one moment, even Mourinho had a pop at him.
Ander Herrera – 8/10
The best performer on the night, Herrera always gives everything to the club and once again, it was his pass that opened the Cherries defence up for Lingard to pass the ball to Smalling for the first goal.
Marouane Fellaini – 6/10
The Belgian again had an average outing and this was his first start since getting dumped out by Sevilla in the Champions League. Fellaini will probably be on the bench against Tottenham.
Paul Pogba – 7.5/10
Pogba was a little conservative in the first half but in the second, he commanded the match and even played a fine ball for Lukaku to score the second goal.
Jesse Lingard – 6.5/10
The Englishman might have got an assist but often, his final ball or pass was wayward. He was taken off in the second half and needs to do better should he play on Saturday.
Marcus Rashford – 6/10
Rashford brought out a good save from Asmir Begovic and ran his socks off, like always. However, there was no end product from the youngster.
Anthony Martial – 6/10
Martial was a handful early on in the game but faded as the minutes ticked by.
Substitutes
Romelu Lukaku – 7/10
Lukaku was brought on late in the game and scored an important goal for us, which was his 27th of the season.
Nemanja Matic – 6/10
Matic was brought into the team to add some solidity and help us win the game.
Daley Blind – 5/10
Blind got a few minutes to play after not playing for almost three months.
