Manchester United vs. Bournemouth: Score, Reaction from 2017 Premier League Game

Manchester United squandered the chance to move into the Premier League's top four as they could only draw 1-1 with Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Not for the first time this season, the Red Devils carved out numerous opportunities but failed to beat a weaker side at home, in no small part thanks to an inspired goalkeeping performance from Artur Boruc. 

An action-packed opening half saw Joshua King cancel out Marcos Rojo's goal from the penalty spot before Andrew Surman was sent off just before the break amid chaotic scenes at Old Trafford. 

More of the same followed as Bournemouth held on for a heroic draw, with Boruc keeping out a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty 20 minutes from time to add to a string of impressive stops during the game.

Both sides provided their lineups ahead of kick-off, with Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw notably returning to United's starting XI:

A breathless start saw Rooney, Paul Pogba and Ibrahimovic all squander chances to open the scoring in the first 10 minutes before Benik Afobe slipped when one-on-one with David De Gea.

Anthony Martial then forced Boruc into two decent saves as he enjoyed almost total freedom down the left flank, and it was remarkable there was not a goal in the opening exchanges, per the Guardian's Nick Ames:

United's opener eventually came in the 23rd minute through the unlikely outlet of centre-back Rojo. Antonio Valencia ended up with the ball in the right channel after a corner and blasted a delivery into the mass of bodies in the penalty area. All Rojo had to do was stick out his foot and turn the ball into the net to put United ahead, per the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst:

Continued United dominance followed, but it was the Cherries who earned the opportunity to equalise in the 40th minute when Phil Jones felled Marc Pugh in the penalty area.

Bournemouth were awarded a spot-kick to few complaints from the United players, and King blasted an unstoppable finish high into the top corner to level the game up.

A chaotic end to the first half then ensued. Ibrahimovic and Rooney both forced Boruc into saves before Surman was sent off for a second yellow card.

He should arguably have been joined by both Ibrahimovic and Tyrone Mings. 

The Swedish forward planted an elbow into Mings' head as they rose for a corner late in the half, seemingly in retaliation to the Bournemouth defender stamping on his head seconds earlier.

Per Squawka News, it was a farcical end to an entertaining half, with referee Kevin Friend seeming to have missed two obvious red cards:

United should have been home and dry by the end of 45 minutes, given the chances they had, and there were echoes of Old Trafford performances earlier in the season when the Red Devils failed to make their dominance pay and had to settle for draws against the likes of Stoke City, Burnley and Hull City.

With their numerical disadvantage, it was inevitable that Bournemouth would sit back in the second half as they looked to claim an unlikely point, and so it proved, per Squawka Football:

However, despite Pogba forcing another fine save from Boruc and United's almost total domination of territory and possession, they could not find another goal in the 25 minutes after half-time, and Jose Mourinho made a triple change to try to alter his side's fortunes, per United:

Within seconds of the substitutions, United were awarded a penalty as the ball struck Adam Smith's arm after Pogba kept the ball in play.

Ibrahimovic stepped up and shot it low towards the corner, but Boruc got down well to keep the ball out impressively. 

United continued to push forward in numbers but laboured in attack and failed to carve out any genuine chances for a winner, with Pogba failing to put home two half-chances in stoppage time.

Post-Match Reaction

Mourinho said after the match that he and his side only had themselves to blame for failing to pick up all three points, per BBC Sport's Neil Johnston:

"

What happened was that we played phenomenal in the first half and should have been winning 3-0 or 4-0—then it ended up 1-1. Who can I blame? Ourselves. Nobody else. We missed big chances.

In the second half we played different team with a man less. I understand their need for one point in the survival battle and they just defended to make it difficult for us. I understand that. And on top of that the goalkeeper was phenomenal.

"

The Portuguese manager also refused to criticise Friend and Mings, although he did hint at a ban of "three or four or five matches" for the Bournemouth player, per MUTV:

On the elbowing incident, Ibrahimovic pleaded innocence, per ESPN FC's Ben Dinnery:

Similarly, Mings insisted he "would never do that" when questioned on whether his stamp was deliberate, per Johnston.