Old Trafford, otra vez en el ascensor: Bournemouthigate al United y lo deja al borde

Hace frío en Old Trafford. Y no es una metáfora para hablar de una derrota: el Manchester United volvió a perder en casa, esta vez 3-0 ante Bournemouth, y accumulate una racha de ocho partidos sin ganar entre todas las competencias. Cinco derrotas en ese tramo. Para encontrar algo comparable hay que volver a 2015-2016. La depths no es un simple momento malo: es una semana en la que el equipo parece seguir arguing con su propia sombra.

Un partido que se decidió en los minutos

Bournemouth took the lead at 38 minutes through Rayan and extended it four minutes later, with Marcus Tavernier exploiting a turnover on the right side involving Yoro. The visitors were not exactly shy: they pressed, they moved the ball, and they made the pitch look less complicated than it became for United. The third goal arrived at 71, when Evanilson finished a pass from Lewis Cook and the ball went over goalkeeper Lammens after poor communication among Lammens, Lisandro Martínez and Harry Maguire.

“A veces hay que ser más valiente bajo presión, asumir el riesgo de presionar arriba y ponerlos incómodos.”Bruno Fernandes

The words were spoken four days earlier, after the 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League. On Sunday, however, Bruno Fernandes remained on the bench from the start and never entered the field. Sometimes a captain needs to say things, but on this afternoon he had to watch from outside. Martínez came on at 65 minutes in place of Ayden Heaven, yet his arrival did not change the script: the third goal soon arrived, and the defeat was sealed.

Michael Carrick described the lineup as a purely sporting decision and said the team was searching for the desired performance. The words are neat, almost too neat. The table is less poetic: United is now sixteenth, with only one point separating it from the relegation zone. The next opponents are Chelsea, Aston Villa and Liverpool. That calendar does not look like a gentle correction. It looks like a hallway full of locked doors.

• Bournemouth scored at 38, 42 and 71 minutes.
• Lisandro Martínez entered at 65 minutes and was involved in the decisive third goal.
• Bruno Fernandes started on the bench and did not play.
• United has eight consecutive matches without a victory, with five defeats.
• The team is sixteenth in the Premier League, one point above the relegation zone.
• Liverpool defeated Brighton 2-0, with goals from Pascal Gross in own goal and Alexander Isak.

There was a clearer result elsewhere on Sunday: Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0. Pascal Gross scored an own goal in the 17th minute and Alexander Isak added another at 21, reaching six goals in seven appearances this season. Alexis Mac Allister played the full 90 minutes. Meanwhile, at Old Trafford, the United tried to get out of the hole and ended up digging a little deeper.

Can the team turn the situation around before the schedule tightens even further? Maybe. Maybe the next match will bring a change, a different attitude, a goal that finally breaks the drought. But for now the evidence is on the side of Bournemouth. We will see, as promised, without much optimism.