- Rojo gave United lead
- King equalized with PK
- Surman sent off
- Zlatan misses PK
Manchester United and Bournemouth drew 1-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday in a fiery encounter which yielded one red card and could have had plenty more.
[ MORE: Mings denies stamp on Zlatan ]
Marcos Rojo gave United an early lead in a frantic start but Joshua King scored a penalty kick five minutes before half time to level things up. Before the interval two unsavory incidents involving Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tyrone Mings took place with both men lucky to stay on the pitch, while Andrew Surman was sent off in the ensuing scuffle.
In the second half 10-man Bournemouth dug deep and the brilliant Artur Boruc saved Ibrahimovic’s penalty kick in a day to forget for the Swedish striker.
With the point United extended their unbeaten PL run to 17 games but missed the chance to make up more ground in their hunt to finish in the top four (this was a seventh home draw in their last 11 PL home games) as they now have 49 points, while Bournemouth move on to 27 points.
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An open, entertaining start to the game saw both teams have chances to take the lead. Luke Shaw‘s long ball found Paul Pogba and he raced clear but Boruc tipped his shot wide. United had another glorious chance after Mings made a mistake and Wayne Rooney played in Ibrahimovic but his touch was heavy and the chance passed.
Seconds later Bournemouth raced up the other end and Benik Afobe was clean through but slipped at the crucial moment and the chance had gone. United then went even closer to taking the lead as Anthony Martial‘s shot hit Ibrahimovic two yards out and Bournemouth somehow cleared.
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Before half time the chances kept coming as Martial raced into the box and drilled a shot on goal which Boruc blocked. Eventually all of that pressure told as Antonio Valencia‘s shot was redirected by Rojo into the bottom corner. 1-0 to the Red Devils.
However, the drama was far from over as Marc Pugh cut inside Phil Jones in the box and the United defender hauled home down cynically. Penalty to Bournemouth and former United forward King hammered the spot kick into the top corner 1-1.
Right on half time there was uproar as Mings and Ibrahimovic — who had been at it the whole game — were involved in two incidents. First, Mings appeared to stamp on Ibrahimovic’s head while he was on the floor and then United’s striker stuck Mings with a vicious elbow. In the melee which ensued referee Kevin Friend didn’t book either player and instead showed Surman a second yellow for a push on Ibrahimovic.
Bournemouth down to 10-men right on half time but the score was 1-1. At half time Mourinho made a point of having a word with Mings in the tunnel and was far from happy…
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Rooney had a deflected effort loop over the bar at the start of the second half as plenty of challenges continued to fly in. Pogba then let a shot rip from distance which Boruc saved superbly as United began to make their one-man advantage count.
United were then awarded a penalty kick as Pogba tried to put the ball back into the box and it hit the outstretched arm of Adam Smith. The referee pointed to the spot but Boruc saved Ibrahimovic’s low penalty kick superbly to keep the scores level.
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
Late on United pushed hard for the winner but despite losing Mings, youngster Baily Cargill came on for Bournemouth and helped Eddie Howe‘s grind out a magnificent point on the road.
More frustration for Mourinho.
