Analysis: Manchester United

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set Manchester United up in an attacking 4-2-3-1 structure. Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera formed the double pivot, with only one dropping in front of Bournemouth’s two strikers. This was usually Matic, which allowed Herrera to move between the visitors’ lines – albeit against a two-on-one central overload.

The hosts thus looked to play across their back line and attack around this central overload, with Paul Pogba moving higher to draw a central defender away from lone forward Marcus Rashford. Early clipped balls into the final third, around the sides of Bournemouth’s block, proved a threat, with Rashford’s willing running and superb skill leading to Pogba’s opening goal as early as the fifth minute.

Matic’s body shape regularly helped the hosts to play forward, rather than setting the ball back to his central defenders. This small detail helped bring Pogba and Jesse Lingard into the game, as they received more passes in advanced positions behind Bournemouth’s central midfield trio. Ashley Young moved higher from right-back, with Herrera dropping into a false full-back position; this freed Lingard to become another central attacking option, joining Pogba and Rashford in a slick central attacking trio against the visitors’ three centre-backs.

United looked capable of scoring at any given time, even against Bournemouth’s compact and low block, but when they failed to link midfield with attack they were vulnerable. Matic’s newfound freedom in possession became a problem if he lost the ball, particularly with Herrera in the false full-back role and unable to cover. At the other end of the pitch, however, the hosts were far more effective than we have seen through much of the season to date; Pogba headed home a second as Herrera crossed from the right, while another Matic ball found Anthony Martial free on the right to cross for Rashford to net United’s third.

The home side continued to search for balls in behind in the second half, with Lingard and Martial the key runners across Bournemouth’s back line. Pogba’s early forward passing and Rashford’s dropping movements helped them penetrate in behind by dragging the opposition centre-backs out of shape. However, their overall build slowed in the second half, as Pogba moved into a slightly deeper role to help the team maintain possession within midfield. The World Cup winner did still create a fourth goal, however, playing in behind for substitute Romelu Lukaku to finish.

Without the ball, United used a structured 4-2-3-1 formation designed to force the ball wide. Possibly wary of the counter-attacking threat posed by right wing-back Jordon Ibe, left-back Luke Shaw remained a fixed part of the back line during the build, unlike Young on the right. So, when the hosts did lose possession, Bournemouth were mostly encouraged to attack down the United right.

During prolonged spells without the ball, the hosts used a mid-block defensive strategy aimed at reducing the spaces in which Bournemouth could build. They looked most vulnerable when defending set-pieces, particularly corners. With Bournemouth unable to create clear-cut chances from open play, they built in wide areas and looked to win corners and free-kicks where possible – it was from one such set-piece that Nathan Ake scored the visitors’ sole goal.

The hosts continued their press in the second half, with Rashford particularly impressive in both his intensity and the speed of his recoveries. Matic would occasionally follow Junior Stanislas, which did create gaps for the visitors in midfield, but he and Herrera otherwise sat close to their centre-backs in a low block. United never looked in any danger of relinquishing their lead in a controlled second half, despite a red card for Eric Bailly – and 12 goals in three victories suggests that the quest for a Champions League spot is back on.