(Football news) Ruben Amorim’s side were the victims of a 4-3 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in Thursday’s absorbing battle, while the Cherries snatched a point in a 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Monday thanks to some Turkish delight.
Disaster struck for both Manchester United and Tottenham on Thursday evening, as after Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs stormed into a three-goal advantage in the EFL Cup quarterfinals, two catastrophes from Fraser Forster gave the Red Devils two lifelines in the second period.
However, Forster’s blushes were subsequently spared by his opposite number, Altay Bayindir, whose pleas for a foul fell on deaf ears after Son Heung-min’s corner flew straight into the back of the net, and a last-gasp Jonny Evans header was rendered inconsequential.
The ever-composed Amorim still appeared in relatively high spirits as he embraced Postecoglou on the sideline, perhaps still partially basking in the glow of last weekend’s gripping 2-1 derby win over Manchester City, albeit one that has made little impact on the Premier League standings.
The 20-time champions of England enter the final gameweek before Christmas in a lowly 13th position, although they are still mathematically closer to the Champions League places than the relegation zone and could rise into the top half if results go their way this weekend.
Fail to win, though, and Manchester United will spend December 25 in the bottom half of the table for the first time in the Premier League era, but scoring at least two goals in each of their last five home matches in all competitions stands Amorim’s men in relatively good stead.
Late goals were also the theme of Bournemouth’s most recent Premier League battle at home to West Ham, who were on the brink of leaving the Vitality with all of the spoils thanks to a Lucas Paqueta penalty, one for Enes Unal to one-up the Brazilian in the dead-ball battle.
With no fewer than 90 minutes on the clock, the Cherries’ Turkish marksman lined up a free kick a good 30 yards from goal and beat Lukasz Fabianski all ends up with a marvellous strike into the top corner, thus extending his side’s unbeaten top-flight run to four matches.
Failure to trump the relegation-threatened Irons did see Bournemouth’s three-match winning sequence come to an end, but Andoni Iraola’s troops still enter gameweek 16 seven places better off than the Red Devils in the rankings, sitting just two points below Manchester City in sixth spot.
Always showcasing an unwavering commitment to attacking football—having the second-most shots in this season’s competition behind Manchester City—Bournemouth are out to score for the 10th Premier League game in a row on Sunday and could win three top-flight away games on the spin for the first time in 12 months.
That December 2023 sequence coincidentally saw Iraola’s men slay Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford before also holding the Red Devils to a 2-2 stalemate at the Vitality Stadium in April—never before have Bournemouth avoided defeat in three consecutive games against Sunday’s hosts.
Also read: Manchester City loses and nothing new as their poor run continues
