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33 min Bournemouth are seeing more of the ball now. They probe down the right, they probe down the left, and eventually they go long, allowing Maguire to head away.
32 min Bournemouth’s turn to hit a wild shot: Christie advances smoothly through midfield, then blasts the ball over the bar.
30 min There was a yellow card just now for Casemiro, a veteran who still gets into trouble like a teenager.
29 min Bournemouth have had only 38 per cent of the possession, which may be a plan: for United, where the ball is concerned, less tends to be more.
28 min United have their tenth shot of the game, and their worst. Dalot, so much better at getting into positions than doing anything with them, blazes the ball into Row Z.
26 min Bournemouth break at pace, then United do the same and it takes a scorpion kick from Jimenez I think to stop Cunha releasing Fernandes down the left.
25 min Half-chance! For Amad, from a crisp cross by Cunha. Amad tees up a volley but Truffert does well to get in the way.
23 min Penalty appeal! Did Maguire give Evanilsen a crafty nudge? Stuart Atwell says no, and the VAR agrees. The crowd, curiously, begs to differ.
22 min Save! The first one from Lammens, who has to get down fast to keep out a snap shot from Rayan.
20 min Another United corner. It leads to a chance for Maguire, with his foot not his head, and he skews his shot so badly that the ball returns to Fernandes. He tes up Cunha, whose shot is rasping but blocked.
19 min Better from Bournemouth, or rather worse from United: Maguire misplaces a pass and Yoro shanks a clearance. But then Maguire wins a free kick to dig his team out of trouble.
18 min United counter beautifully, with a fine switch from Cunha on the left to Amad on the right. Fernandes has another shot, deflected for a corner, which United can’t do much with.
16 min Another save by Petrovic, this time from Fernandes. All three of United’s shots so far have been on target, unlike Bournemouth’s one. But now Bournemouth have a long throw on the right.
14 min It feels as if both attacks have a goal in them.
12 min An excellent perpendicular pass finds Tavernier in the hole, and Mainoo has to be quick to pick his pocket. Mainoo, like Maguire, is back in the England fold.
10 min Save! By Petrovic at the near post from Cunah, whose shot with his left foot was a lot better than that cross just now.
7 min Mbeumo and Amad are on the same wavelength on the right, but they’re well policed by Truffert. United head over to Cunha, who skies his cross.
5 min Chances! For both teams! First Amad draws a save from Petrovic with a right-foot shot, then Bournemouth break at speed down the right and Rayan drags his shot wide of the far post.
3 min The corner is easily cleared and Amad has a glimmer of a counter-attack, but it too is snuffed out.
2 min United have the ball but can’t escape the Bournemouth press. Evanilsen wins the first corner of the night.
Both teams go into a huddle. No ref in the middle of either.
The players walk out into the fog of a firework display. United seem to be in their off-white strip. Sky reckons Rayan will be on the right for Bournemouth with Tavernier as the 10.
“Oliver Glasner. Eddie Howe. Unai Emery,” says Eric Peterson. “And now, Andoni Iraola. Was there some sudden change to the Premier League bylaws that said, as of 1 March, only squads with managers rumored to be a candidate to take over Manchester United next season would be allowed to play against them?
”Next up, after the international window: Daniel Farke. Just sayin’.”
Good spot! But in my capacity as the editor of United Writing, I’d rather have Michael Carrick than any of them.
Both managers have gone for a fluid front four. It’s going to be interesting to see how the defences cope, though both sides have been defending well since they allowed each other to score four times in one evening.
Over the past nine league games – since Semenyo left the south coast and Carrick returned to Carrington – Bournemouth’s back four has been the most parsimonious in the Premier League, conceding only six goals. United have conceded nine in that time, one more than Arsenal and Brighton. You have to hand it to Bournemouth’s back four for coping without Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez.
And you have to hand it to Harry Maguire for playing so well that he has won a recall to the England squad at the grand old age of 33. He is also expected to be offered a new contract by United. Their current back four, with Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez injured, has pace on the right (Leny Yoro and Diogo Dalot) and wisdom on the left (Maguire and Luke Shaw). It will be no surprise if Iraola puts his pacey forwards on the right to test the old stagers.
“Greetings from Canada,” says David Gayton. “Almost fun fact: Cunha was born the day after United clenched the treble. May 26, 1999.”
That is a fun fact. Though it may also make a few people feel older than they did a minute ago.
The first email has landed. “Free buses?!” splutters Peter Oh. “No free WiFi though, am I right?”
Wish I could tell you. Maybe someone at the ground will see this and let us know.
The free buses, by the way, are expected to pull into Manchester at 4am. So there will be a price to pay.
Teams in full
Bournemouth (4-2-3-1) Petrovic; Jimenez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Christie; Tavernier, Rayan, Adli; Evanilson.
Subs: Mandas, Smith, Milosavljevic, Diakite, Toth, Gannon-Doak, Brooks, Kroupi, Unal.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1-ish) Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Fernandes, Cunha; Mbeumo.
Subs: Bayindir, Fredericson, Heaven, Malacia, Ugarte, T Fletcher, Mount, Zirkzee, Sesko.
Teams in brief: two changes for Bournemouth
Andoni Iraola makes two changes to the XI that drew 0-0 at Turf Moor. Alex Jimenez replaces Adam Smith at right-back, while Amine Adli comes in for Junior Kroupi in the front four. It looks as if Adli will be on the left with Rayan slipping into Kroupi’s shoes as the no 10.
Teams in brief: United unchanged
Michael Carrick does like to keep things simple. He sticks with the starting XI that served him well against Villa, so Benjamin Sesko is on the bench again.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to what could be a rip-roaring occasion. When Manchester United and Bournemouth last faced each other, in December, they ended up scoring four goals apiece.
Now they meet again on a Friday night on the south coast. This may suit the fan on the sofa a lot better than the travelling supporter, but United have softened the blow by laying on free buses for the return trip from Manchester. Hats off to the member of staff who managed to get that idea past Jim Ratcliffe.
Bournemouth’s first goal in the 4-4 feast was dished up by Antoine Semenyo. They have a peculiar record since letting him go in January: no defeats in nine Premier League games (while everybody else has lost at least once), but only three wins. They have been drawing matches and, increasingly, drawing blanks. Their last four results have been 0-0 at West Ham, 1-1 at home to Sunderland, 0-0 at home to Brentford and 0-0 at Burnley. Their flying forward line, which includes two teenagers in Junior Kroupi and Rayan, is surely too good to let that continue.
Andoni Iraola has some great memories to call upon against United, including two 3-0 thrashings at Old Trafford. And although Michael Carrick has done a masterly job since replacing Ruben Amorim (P9 W7 D1 L1, top of the table in that time), this is just the kind of fixture that has tested him – on the road, in the evening, against supposedly lesser opposition. His team lost at Newcastle, drew at West Ham and won narrowly at Everton, and those are the only games on his watch in which they’ve failed to score twice.
When United drew at the Vitality Stadium last spring, there was little to play for as they were 15th and their hosts were 10th. Bournemouth are 10th again now, but a win will lift them to eighth, which could be enough for European football next season. A win for United, who are now within seven points of Man City, will keep them on course for the Champions League and allow them to play grandmother’s footsteps with their noisy neighbours.
Whatever the result, both sides will have rather too much time to dwell on it. After tonight they don’t play again for three weeks – Bournemouth return to action on 11 April, United two days later. After binning the midwinter break, the Premier League is having one just as spring is here. Ours not to reason why.
