Bournemouth 2-2 Man Utd: Player ratings as Fernandes brace rescues point for Red Devils

  • Bournemouth held Man Utd to a 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium
  • Bruno Fernandes scored brace while Dominic Solanke broke club record with goal to put hosts ahead early on
  • Red Devils have now only won one of their last seven games
Fernandes twice brought Man Utd level
Fernandes twice brought Man Utd level / Dan Mullan/GettyImages
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Manchester United have now won only one of their last seven Premier League games after being held to a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday.

The visitors managed to take just one point from their trip to the south coast and are still 10 points off a top-four spot.

Erik ten Hag's side were improved from their last performance against the Cherries in December when they were beaten 3-0, but were unable to defeat Andoni Iraola's men once again.


How the game unfolded

Dominic Solanke reminded fans he is indeed one of the best strikers in the Premier League, opening the scoring and setting the record as Bournemouth's top goalscorer in a single top-flight season. His goal took advantage of a slip from Willy Kambwala and saw the ball slot into the bottom left corner of the net.

An opportunity soon arrived for Milos Kerkez, as the defender aimed a high ball into the net, forcing a save from Andre Onana.

United captain Bruno Fernandes fought back to equalise for the Red Devils, firing to the roof of the net following a cutback from Alejandro Garnacho. The goal meant Fernandes has scored or assisted 90 goals in the top-flight since moving to Old Trafford - 27 more than any other United player has managed in that period.

It didn't take long for the hosts to steal the lead again however, with Justin Kluivert's shot flying into the bottom left corner after being handed ample space by United's defence.

Nine minutes were added on to the first half and Bournemouth continued their dominance, with more shots, tackles and chances created than United in the first 45 minutes.

The game resumed and the Cherries still looked set to control play. But Fernandes added another goal to his CV midway through the second half, firing a penalty into the bottom right after the ball brushed the shoulder of Adam Smith and the referee deduced this was handball.

With one last attack, Ryan Christie thought he had won Bournemouth a stoppage-time penalty when he was tripped by Kambwala, but this was overturned by VAR when replays showed the foul occurred inches outside the 18-yard box.


Bournemouth player ratings (4-2-3-1)

Dominic Solanke
Solanke scores again / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages

GK: Neto - 6/10 - Could only sit back and watch as Fernandes equalised for United twice, but otherwise didn't have much work to do to keep Bournemouth safe.

RB: Adam Smith - 6/10 - Worked to keep Rashford quiet while also supporting in attack. Always a solid starter when called upon. Was unlucky be blamed for a questionable penalty.

CB: Illia Zabarnyi - 7/10 - Again, brilliant as always. Would've been better with more threat in attack.

CB: Marcos Senesi - 9/10 - Provided the assist for both Solanke and Kluivert's goals, a real playmaker from the back.

LB: Milos Kerkez - 8/10 - The opportunity to push further up came for Kerkez when Kelly came on for Sinisterra. A goal is brewing for the 20-year-old in the near future.

CM: Lewis Cook - 7/10 - His partnership with Christie is immense in the midfield and he outpaced so many of United's squad.

CM: Ryan Christie - 9/10 - Has an incredible connection with Cook. Constantly caused issues for United's midfield, and was literally all over the pitch.

RW: Luis Sinisterra - 6/10 - Limped off the pitch after fears of injury before the game, didn't get the chance to make too much of an impact.

AM: Justin Kluivert - 9/10 - Such an influential player, was given so much space and time to score Bournemouth's second goal. Was taken off towards the end of the second half with injury fears.

LW: Dango Ouattara - 6/10 - Quiet, but did have a chance early on. Struggled to make an impact, but played well.

ST: Dominic Solanke - 9/10 - Dom Solanke did indeed score again. Broke records after earning the first goal at the Vitality, such a star on the pitch.


Substitutes

SUB: Lloyd Kelly (39' for Sinisterra) - 6/10

SUB: Max Aarons (70' for Smith) - 6/10

SUB: Romain Faivre (70' for Ouattara) - 5/10

SUB: Enes Unal (76' for Kluivert) - 5/10

Subs not used: Mark Travers (GK), Alex Scott, James Hill, Michael DaCosta, Philip Billing.


Manager

Andoni Iraola - 8/10 - Made a few changes from the squad that faced Luton Town, but tactically had his hands tied with injuries.


Man Utd player ratings (4-2-3-1)

Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes reached new heights for United / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

GK: Andre Onana - 8/10 - Great between the sticks for United. Kept Bournemouth's goals to a minimum.

RB: Diogo Dalot - 5/10 - The opposition were able to dribble past him with ease, didn't make much of a impact at all.

CB: Harry Maguire - 7/10 - Decent, made big tackles and blocked shots. The experienced head that players like Kambwala need.

CB: Willy Kambwala - 5/10 - Looked nervous in the first half, but grew into the game and became aggressive towards the end. Slipped leading to Solanke's opener and was a little fortunate his foul on Christie was outside the box.

LB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 6/10 - Fairly quiet, didn't offer much and was quite ineffective.

CM: Casemiro - 5/10 - Played very high for some reason and put in another leggy performance in the middle of the park.

CM: Kobbie Mainoo - 6/10 - A player this young should not be carrying United. Good effort on his part.

RW: Alejandro Garnacho - 7/10 - Came off for Diallo at half-time, but prior to that played very well with teammates that looked average around him.

AM: Bruno Fernandes - 9/10 - Scored two goals and proved why he deserves the captain's armband.

LW: Marcus Rashford - 5/10 - Could've forgotten he was on the pitch. Didn't create many chances or offer too much threat.

ST: Rasmus Hojlund - 5/10 - No threat in United's attack, hasn't had service but also struggled to get into the game of his own accord.


Substitutes

SUB: Amad Diallo (46' for Garnacho) - 5/10

SUB: Mason Mount (78' for Mainoo) - 6/10

Subs not used: Altay Bayindir (GK), Christian Eriksen, Ethan Wheatley, Habeeb Ogunneye, Harry Fiorentino, Omari Forson, Sofyan Amrabat.

Manager

Erik ten Hag - 5/10 - Choices made during the game didn't make much of a difference.


Player of the match: Ryan Christie (Bournemouth)

Ryan Christie
Christie was at the heart of everything good Bournemouth did / Charlie Crowhurst/GettyImages

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