Man United is on a winning streak thanks to Casemiro

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United continue their perfect streak since the World Cup with 3-0 win via Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Casemiro scored his first goal at Old Trafford to put United ahead in the first half before Luke Shaw finishing a move, he started making it 2-0 right after the first half ended. Marcus Rashford scored the third late to give Man United six straight wins in all official matches.

With this result, Man United is third while Bournemouth are in 15th place on the Premier League table.

JUMP TO: Player Rating | Best/worst performer | Highlights & remarkable moments | Quotes after the game | main statistics | upcoming match schedule

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first. Is Man United quietly challenging for the title?

Everyone agrees that if coach Erik ten Hag can get United into the top four and back into the Champions League it will be a nice comeback after his first season in charge. But maybe – just maybe – he’s thinking bigger.

weapon and City of Manchester are favorites to win the Premier League — and rightfully so — but United have now won their last six matches in all competitions and have lost just one of their last 16.

Tuesday’s win over Bournemouth puts Ten Hag’s side on 35 points, level with Newcastle in third with a game in hand.

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There are plenty of reasons why United can’t win the league – they can do it with a striker in the January transfer window and lose 3-1 to Aston Villa in early November is a recent reminder that they are still capable of producing a horror show.

But there are also some compelling reasons why they might challenge the leaders in the second half of the season. In Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro, they have three of the best defensive players in the league. Currently, the squad is also relatively healthy and Rashford is in good form after scoring in four consecutive matches.

At the very least, Ten Hag has given United fans reason to believe a title between now and May is possible.

2. Casemiro has been the most important player of Ten Hag

Varane, Martinez and Christian Eriksen are having good seasons at Old Trafford – but no one is more important to United Casemiro. It took a while for the Brazilian to earn a place in the team after moving to the summer from Real Madridbut now he’s first on the team’s roster.

He scored against Bournemouth with such ease that you would easily think it was a simple chance — but it shows the quality of the 30-year-old as he can lead way for Eriksen to shoot directly into the net. Foot.

Casemiro also completed the rest of his job with quiet efficiency – moving in front of the back four, winning the ball back and passing it to the players in front of him.

When asked recently why he thought Real Madrid were willing to let Casemiro leave in the summer, Ten Hag could only smile and reply: “I’m glad they did.”

In 16 matches Casemiro has started this season, United have kept 10 clean sheets. There is still a debate about whether Ten Hag has enough goals in his team after cristiano ronaldodeparture, but they are in safe hands at the rear.

3.Bournemouth O’Neil knows it’s hard to be on top

Bournemouth won their last two games before the World Cup break by a total of 7-1, and two weeks later Gary O’Neil signed an 18-month contract to become their full-time coach. But since starting again, Bournemouth have played four, lost four, conceded eight and failed to score.

If he doesn’t already know, O’Neil is figuring out how difficult it can be to manage football. The former Portsmouth and West Ham midfielder just needs to help Bournemouth flourish this season, but that’s easier said than done.

The defeat at Old Trafford leaves Bournemouth 15th in the rankings, but only 2 points above the relegation group when the teams below are like Forest of Nottingham and Wolves are starting to gain points.

O’Neil, a first-time manager, can thank Frank Lampard – who Everton team lost 4-1 at home to Brighton on Tuesday — for keeping him out of the spotlight at the moment. But if results don’t change soon, the fierce nature of the Premier League means it won’t be long before he starts to come under pressure.

Bournemouth’s home game against Forest on January 21 could be pivotal in deciding which league they will play in next season.

Player Rating

People unite: David De Gea 7, Aaron Wan-Bissaka 6, Luke Shaw 8, Victor Lindelof 7, Harry Maguire 7, Casemiro 8, Christian Eriksen 7, Donny van de Beek 6, Brun Fernandes 6, Marcus Rashford 6, Anthony Martial 6.

Prep: Scott McTominay 6, Fred 6, Diogo Dalot 6, Anthony Elanga 6., Lisandro Martinez 6.

Bournemouth: Mark Travers 6, Adam Smith 5, Chris Mepham 6, Lloyd Kelly 6, Marcos Senesi 5, Lewis Cook 6, Jefferson Lerma 5, Jaidon Anthony 6, Philip Billing 5, Ryan Christie 6, Dominic Solanke 5.

Prep: Jack Stacey 6, Siriki Dembele 6, Kieffer Moore 6, Joe Rothwell 6.

Best and worst performers

BEST: Casemiro, Manchester United

He was closed by Shaw but the Brazilian was impressive in midfield and scored beautifully.

BEST: Dominic Solanke, AFC Bournemouth

Casemiro completely lost sight of United’s first goal and didn’t affect the game at the other end.

Highlights and remarkable moments

In the 23rd minute, Casemiro scored his first goal at Old Trafford since joining Manchester United, his second for the club.

Midfielder Christian Eriksen takes a long free-kick into the box, which Casemiro comes in and coolly finishes.

Casemiro scores his first Old Trafford goal for @ManUtd! 🇧🇷

@NBCSportsFootball | #MUNBOU pic.twitter.com/l7JfhrAypL

– US Premier League (@PLinUSA) January 3, 2023

Right after the break, Man United doubled the lead.

Luke Shaw found the finish in a well-coordinated mix with Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho’s touches in front of goal.

They don’t call him Luke Shawberto for nothing.

: @Peacock #MyPLMorning | #MUNBOU pic.twitter.com/2zTueWNClL

– NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 3, 2023

Marcus Rashford scored Manchester United’s third late in the game, and it was a comfortable win for the hosts.

After the game: What players and coaches say

Man United manager Erik ten Hag: “Today it wasn’t our best game. To be honest, we didn’t play as smart as a team. We scored great goals, but sometimes we are quite lucky, and some brilliant saves from David [de Gea]. We could have been smarter as a team.”

Ten Hags: “We have to go from one match to another. The next match is cup one, but we want to win every game. That has to be the approach. We don’t want to look any further – let’s focus on that, it’s going to be a tough game.”

Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw: “The strides we’re making are going in the right direction that we want. There’s still a lot of room for improvement but things are going really well and positively. We feel like trust and confidence have taken off. back, and you can feel it around the place, not just with the players and staff, but you can feel it in the stadium and around the fans. enjoying it at the moment but I feel like there’s more to come and hopefully we can continue to bring smiles to people’s faces.”

Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil: “It was not a 3-0 game. I think we could have six or seven chances but obviously Manchester United have some as well. We need to make sure we create those chances every week. .”

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)

• Casemiro scored his second Manchester United goal in 22 games. With Real Madrid, he didn’t score his first goal in any tournament until his 50th game.

• Marcus Rashford has scored in six consecutive games playing at Old Trafford (one each since 27 October 2022). He has only 5 goals in his previous 24 games playing at Old Trafford since 18 May 2021.

Next

Manchester United: The Reds have a quick turnaround for Friday’s FA Cup tie when they host Everton on January 6 (live on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET). They then stayed and host Charlton Athletic on January 10 in the Premier League.

AFC Bournemouth: The Cherry will turn their focus to the FA Cup when they host Burnley on Saturday, January 7 (go live on ESPN+ at 10 a.m. ET). They then travel to Brentford to play in the Premier League on Saturday, January 14.