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Paul Harding
AS IT HAPPENED

As it happened: Bournemouth v Manchester United, Barclay's Premier League

We had all the action from the Dean Court this evening.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of tonight’s Premier League clash between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester United.

Look, we know the last few league games featuring Louis van Gaal’s side haven’t exactly kept us on the edge of our seats but we’ve a feeling this one will be better. It can’t be much worse, can it?

Here’s your team news.

For the home side, Ireland’s Harry Arter starts again while Eunan O’Kane is on the bench.

Bournemouth: Boruc, Smith, Cook, Francis, Daniels, Ritchie, Surman, Arter, Gosling, Stanislas, King.

Subs: Federici, Distin, O’Kane, Pugh, Rantie, Kermorgant, Murray.

And for the visitors, there are three changes from the side which lost to Wolfsburg as McNair, Borthwick-Jackson and Carrick come in for Smalling, Darmian and Schweinsteiger.

Manchester United: De Gea, Varela, McNair, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Carrick, Fellaini, Lingard, Mata, Memphis, Martial.

Subs: Romero, Jones, Tuanzebe, Young, Schneiderlin, Pereira, Powell.

If you’re wondering about the Euro 2016 draw by the way, we’ve got you covered here too:

16 points and 13 places separate these two and United come in as 7/5 favourites. Bournemouth are 21/10 but a lot of people are predicting a draw which is available at 9/4.

And United get the game under way.

GOAL! – Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester United

Gosling wins the corner with a close range header and Junior Stanislas scores directly from the corner. A combination of Martial stepping off the post and David de Gea misjudging the flight of the ball costs United dearly.

CLOSE! - Boruc makes a double save from Fellaini and McNair to stop United equalising almost straight away and Bournemouth breath a sigh of relief as the corner comes to nothing.

Bournemouth are no world beaters but United have no identity and their patchwork defence looks vulnerable every time their hosts attack.

The last attack sums up everything that’s wrong with United of late. Lingard is wide open in space on the right while Blind’s pass from the left is way over hit.

Bournemouth almost shoot themselves in the foot when the goal-scorer gives the ball away to Martial but the young attacker can’t get the ball out from beneath his feet and drags his shot wide.

Stanislas celebrates his goal:

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CLOSE! – Stanislas is through one-on-one but David de Gea does a much better job this time around and cuts out the attack.

GOAL! Bournemouth 1-1 Manchester United 

Out of pretty much nothing, United are level. Depay gets on the end of a long ball and forces Boruc into the save. The Bournemouth keeper can only parry it and Fellaini is there to pounce.

Sub: Andreas Pereira comes on for the injured Jesse Lingard after half an hour.

This time Depay and Fellaini can’t link up, the Dutch man’s cross skips by his team-mate. It’s been better from United since they went behind early.

CLOSE! – Almost a brilliant individual goal from Martial when it takes about seven attempts at a tackle to finally take the ball away from him just as he lined up a shot. The visitors fail to threaten from the resulting corner.

Yellow card -  Andreas Pereira with a wild challenge and is rightly booked for his troubles despite the appeals of his team-mates.

United with about 60% possession but, Boruc’s double save and the goal aside, they haven’t looked very dangerous in the final third just yet.

HALF-TIME – Bournemouth 1-1 Manchester United 

No changes from either side from what we can see as the second half gets underway

A Worrying sight for United fans as Memphis looks to be in pain. He hasn’t indicated he wants to come off yet but he was their best player in the first half.

GOAL! Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United

Another corner and yet more brutal defending from United. Nobody thinks of clearing Matt Ritchie’s corner and Josh King is there to shoot home against his former club.

Chance – United almost equalise down the other end as Boruc and Cook both fail to deal with the ball but the visitors can’t take advantage.

Another decent change for United but Harry Arter dives in to make a crucial block.

If Louis van Gaal’s side are going to get back into this game it looks like Marouane Fellaini will be the player to do it. He really could have a hat-trick and looks, alongside Depay, United’s best player.

What a time to be alive.

SUB: Goalscorer Josh King is off, Glenn Murray is on.

CLOSE! – Wow, Glenn Murray really should have made it 3-1 there but he blazed over from seven yards after skipping through a gap in the United defence left by Blind ball-watching.

CLOSE! – Murray again, six yards out and blazes over. United defend a corner as if they’ve never faced one before for the third time in the match.

Sub: And LVG takes off Fellaini for Nick Powell.

Harry Arter, who has played well tonight, shoots just wide from distance. It would have been a fine finish.

Sub: Harry Arter, who played tonight despite the loss of his child at birth this week, goes off to a huge round of applause.

Sub: Five minutes of injury time to be played, United 2-1 down and Phil Jones comes on for Paddy McNair. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Close – Bournemouth nearly make it 3-1 but neither Gosling or Murray can get their shot away and United escape.

FULL TIME! –  Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United 

Well, we said it would be a better game than some of United’s previous ones and it was. Unless, of course, you support the visitors.

Some strange managerial decisions from Louis van Gaal, particularly in relation to his substitutions but, then again, that’s a consistent theme for United this season.

A first win over their guests since 1984 for Bournemouth and thoroughly deserved.

And that’s it from me.

Thanks as always for joining us.

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