Bournemouth vs. Manchester United: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Bournemouth claimed a second consecutive Premier League victory after beating Manchester United 2-1 on Saturday at the Vitality Stadium.
Junior Stanislas converted directly from a corner kick to put the hosts ahead in the second minute, but Marouane Fellaini drew United level midway through the first half with a scrappy finish.
Bournemouth started the second half brilliantly and deservedly retook the lead in the 54th minute as Josh King finished a cleverly crafted set piece.
The Cherries might have won by a larger margin, but substitute Glenn Murray missed two good chances later in the second half.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Josh King
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Junior Stanislas opened the scoring with an eye-catching goal direct from a corner kick, but we reserve a special mention here for his teammate Josh King.
King capped a brilliant spell for the Cherries by notching the winner in the 54th minute, sweeping home from six yards after the hosts executed a set piece perfectly.
It wasn't a difficult chance by any means, but the goal turned out to be the winner, and it had extra meaning for King, a former Manchester United player.
After leaving United in 2013 and joining Bournemouth this past summer, King might not have imagined ever having a chance to put one over on his former employer. But he did exactly that on Saturday, helping Bournemouth to a famous win for the second time in as many weeks.
Speaking of which…
Winner: Bournemouth's Big Week
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At the start of December, Bournemouth were sitting in the relegation zone. The outlook had to be bleak, with back-to-back games against Chelsea and Manchester United coming up.
But the Cherries won at Stamford Bridge in Matchday 15 to move out of the bottom three. It was probably the biggest result in club history, considering Chelsea are the defending Premier league Champions and this is Bournemouth's first-ever season in the top flight.
And this weekend, Eddie Howe's men pulled off a deserved 2-1 triumph at home to Manchester United, the club with the most league titles in English history.
That's an amazing stretch for a club that nearly suffered relegation from the football league in 2009.
"It has been unbelievable. We've worked hard for this game and you saw how hard the boys worked out there," goalscorer Junior Stanislas told Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport). "It does [give us belief that we can stay up]. We have a strong group of players here. We've had injuries. The players who have come in have caused all sorts of problems."
Confidence indeed. Up next for Bournemouth is a trip to West Bromwich Albion followed by a home game against Crystal Palace. After beating Chelsea and Manchester United in consecutive weeks, the Cherries will feel they can play with any team in the division.
And if they continue to play like they did against United—pressing the ball, countering dangerously and finishing efficiently on set pieces—it will be no surprise to see Bournemouth in the top flight against next season.
Loser: Manchester United's Awful Week
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The differences between these two clubs could hardly be more pronounced. Bournemouth are playing in their first top-flight season. Manchester United have won the league a record 20 times. Bournemouth play in the tiny Vitality Stadium, while United feature in the expansive Old Trafford.
And while Bournemouth have enjoyed perhaps their best week ever, United have suffered through a particularly poor one.
After crashing out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, United had a chance to rebound with a positive result against Bournemouth. Instead, Louis van Gaal's injury-plagued squad lost for the second straight time, extending the current winless streak to five games.
The quality of attacking play on display at United has been rather pedestrian for long stretches this season, drawing frustrated cries of "Attack! Attack!" from the stands at Old Trafford. But after these two losses, during which United shipped five goals, fans might wish to return to the days of scoreless draws.
Well, maybe not. Suffice it to say that the sense of malaise at Manchester United is growing. Van Gaal must turn things around, and fast.
"Van Gaal is effectively rendering all he did last season irrelevant," tweeted Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News. "Got until the end of the season to prove it shouldn't be Ancelotti (as the manager)."
The pressure, in other words, is on.
Loser: Manchester United Defending Set Pieces
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Both of Bournemouth's goals came from set pieces. In the second minute, Junior Stanislas curled a corner straight into the net for the opening goal. Early in the second half, Josh King netted the winner after Bournemouth executed a training-ground routine to perfection.
The sequence started with King creating a bit of separation between himself and Manchester United's Daley Blind with a push. Andrew Surman then screened Blind as the defender tried to close the gap on King.
Matt Ritchie had rolled his corner straight to the edge of the six-yard box, meeting King's curling run. From there, King only had to side-foot into the net.
It was a brilliant set piece, and although United might argue that referee Anthony Taylor could have called a foul, King's push was no worse than anything that goes on inside a Premier League box during each and every corner. The bottom line is that United didn't defend doggedly enough, and that failure resulted in the winning goal.
Alarmingly, that was the fourth time in two games that United had conceded from a set piece. Surely Louis van Gaal must sort out his side's defending.
"Two set-plays cost us," Van Gaal said, per BBC Sport. "That is not normal for us because we give a lot of attention to organisation. They had a few variations and did it very well but still it cannot be."
Winner: Marouane Fellaini
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Marouane Fellaini was probably the biggest positive for Manchester United from this performance. That's not because his goal was pretty. On the contrary, it was a scrappy effort from the big Belgian, who bullied his way onto the scoresheet and pulled his side level midway through the first half.
"The good thing about (Fellaini) is United don't have to be playing well to get something out of him," Rob Dawson wrote for the Manchester Evening News. "He's horrible and awkward to play against and can trouble defenders with just a simple ball into the box."
But that's just it. With United struggling at the moment, Fellaini is precisely what Louis van Gaal needs. His bruising style might be more brutish than beautiful game, but it can be highly effective.
