Better days must lie ahead for Manchester United. Otherwise, things have gone truly pear-shaped. A Sunday where their fans lived vicariously through hopes of Tottenham delaying Liverpool’s title celebrations and Nottingham Forest stopping City winning another FA Cup counts as a ground-zero level ebb, even considering United’s decline and fall. Rescuing a point from 10-man Bournemouth might have arrested some of the helpless, listless doom but probably not for too long.
Perhaps United’s team spirit, that which carried them past Lyon in the Europa League, is evidencing itself, though far more than that is required. As with Lyon, it took an opposing red card – Evanilson, a tad unluckily – to add momentum to a muddle.
Reports of Ruben Amorim playing the kids ahead of Athletic Club were proven exaggerated, his selection as strong as can be expected from the Frankenstein-like horror of United’s bolted-together squad. With Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic in mind, Amorim was running a case study against a team of a similar style, coached by a Basque bred by the same club. It didn’t go too well. Even if this group somehow lifts a European trophy, it will surely be broken up for scrap. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, sometime renewables enthusiast, was watching on.
If the past was United’s, how long until the future is theirs? “We are in the different levels at this moment,” said Amorim, referencing Liverpool’s imminent triumph. “Everything can change, so we need to focus and step by step, not trying to to to think too far ahead. We have a ultimate goal that is winning the Premier League. And again, I’m not crazy, I know that it is not going to be next year, but we are trying to build something and the small things are really important.”
Luke Shaw, signed for Louis van Gaal in 2014, was making a first United start since February 2024, his only other start the Euro 2024 final. Shaw played part in the farce that resulted in Antoine Semenyo’s goal but hardly looked more rusty than his colleagues. He completed the full match. “When you are losing, you are not thinking about the next game,” said Amorim.
Andre Onana’s goal-kick had played Shaw and Patrick Dorgu into trouble, an area of malfunction repeated to the point of insanity. If dodgy keeping and defending have been a problem, so too goalscoring. It took Hojlund’s second of 2025 to win a point.
United’s away support was, as ever, loud though songs of Matt Busby, Wayne Rooney, Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo cast gloomy shade, even if Amorim was hailed lustily. His team began slowly and stayed that way. Onana’s ball-playing from the back soon attracted the mockery of home fans eventually disappointed their team failed to climb above Fulham and Brighton, sunk by the type of late goal sinking Andoni Iraola’s team’s quest for Europe.
“This win would have meant a lot to us,” said Iraola. “A point is a big difference. It is difficult to look in a positive way at the moment. We need a few hours.”
Could Bournemouth have been down to ten earlier? Alejandro Garnacho was on the receiving end of a tackle from Tyler Adams that required the video assistant referee to rule out a straight red. That incident only loosened United’s concentration, Onana, Shaw and Patrick Dorgu getting in that mess before Semenyo stole in to score. Bournemouth had early second-half chances to kill the contest through Semenyo and Evanilson before Dango Ouattara smashed a post with a free-kick from a near-impossible angle.
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Then came United’s route back, Evanilson red-carded following video review. His ragged tackle on Noussair Mazraoui handed United 20 minutes plus nine added on. It was arguable the striker had slipped. “Common sense,” Iraola demanded. “Everyone who has played football understands. He slips. The repercussions for us are huge.”
Blessed with numbers, United still hacked away as if attempting to fell an oak tree with blunt objects. Their salvation arrived very late. Substitute Mason Mount had a shot deflected wide and Shaw volley the resulting corner off-target. Chido Obi, the teenager on as a sub, forced a save from Kepa, Fernandes agonised at a miss. Eventually Hojlund, from inches out, tapped in the result of a ricochet begun by Ugarte’s hopeful hack forwards. “He can be a little bit lighter during the week,” said Amorim of his No 9. “He now needs to score many more.”
Cue celebrations in the away end, previously running through their greatest hits playlist, including a celebration of 20 league titles collected increasingly long ago. Until the goal, the present had been far too disappointing to consider.
Source: theguardian.com
