Manchester United woe deepens as Bournemouth write another fairytale

Louis van Gaal and Manchester United ended a miserable week with a disappointing 2-1 defeat at AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.

Manchester United looks to bounce back from getting eliminated from the Champions League in midweek in an away match at Bournemouth, which beat Chelsea last weekend.

Louis van Gaal insists he is still the right man to win silverware at Manchester United despite the club’s embarrassing exit from the Champions League. They knocked out the Red Devils out of the FA Cup in 1984 but for the three decades since, it has been a tale of lying in the wilderness.

“We’ve tried a load of them (set pieces) this season, sometimes, majority of the time they don’t come off so to see one come off and win us the game was hugely satisfying”, Eddie Howe told Sky Sports 1. I don’t think it is [completely] like that – I can make the difference, in tactics and everything.

It was precisely the start Van Gaal did not want and when Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc highlighted De Gea’s error with two outstanding, one-handed saves in quick succession, the signs were not promising for the visitors.

“I think it is a insane match”.

When asked if he doubted his ability to win trophies with United, Van Gaal said: “No. I don’t have any doubts”.

He said: “You can lose and you can win in sport, and you have to accept that, as a player and as a manager, but you have to work very hard and I am working very hard and my players are working very hard and doing everything we can do”.

Seldom has a club just three points off the Premier League lead appeared so engulfed by crisis, but then rarely has a club lavished 250 million ($565 million) on star players and fashioned a team so utterly underwhelming.

“We have to maintain that and if we do, I am 100 percent confident we will get out of trouble”. It’s not new. It’s a matter of belief, if you believe in this manager or not.

Here’s what the Dutchman said about the game, the performance and bouncing back…

Marouane Fellaini equalized for United in the 24th.

Bournemouth started in style again in the second-half as Simon Francis, man of the match at Chelsea, belied his position as a centre-back to dance through United’s defence like a seasoned winger and fire at De Gea.

This time it was Blind who was at fault, allowing King to meet Matt Ritchie’s low cross with a carefully controlled shot through a crowded six-yard box. Andreas Pereira replaced him.

MF Nick Powell, 1 – Must be doing something wonderful in training because he does nothing when he plays. Could have been on the scoresheet much earlier but buried his chance and worked tirelessly.

Junior Stanislas opened the scoring by curling home direct from a corner at Dean Court.

He gave the ball away too often, though, and in a team full of kids, he should have taken a greater leadership role than he did in the final 15 minutes. Van Gaal’s side did not attain the level of control that their manager craves but, on the other hand, they were not as ponderous as they have been on occasions this season, playing with a higher tempo and, due mainly to the presence of Fellaini, with more directness.

All of which piled on the misery and agony for United as their title hopes took a serious battering on the south coast.