The pressure on Manchester United manager Michael Carrick was upped a further notch by another insipid performance as they slumped to a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth.

The Cherries were superb throughout and thoroughly deserving of their victory, which extended United's winless run to eight games.

The pre-match narrative centered on Bruno Fernandes, with the United captain dropped to the substitutes bench after he blamed Carrick's tactics for their 4-1 defeat by Como on Wednesday - though the manager said it was a "football decision".

But despite trailing 2-0 at half-time, Fernandes, so often United's talisman was not brought on.

Fernandes watched on as his side laboured through the first half, creating little as Evanilson and Rayan spurned early opportunities for the visitors.

The warning signs were there and the visitors eventually took the lead when a superb Justin Kluivert free-kick found an unmarked Rayan at the back post and he beat Senne Lammens with a well-taken volley.

United's woes were compounded two minutes before half-time when an untimely Leny Yoro slip allowed Adrien Truffert to square for Marcus Tavernier to convert into the empty net.

Boos greeted the half-time whistle, though some home fans did their best to encourage their players as they trudged down the tunnel.

The offside flag denied Evanilson a third Bournemouth goal early in the second half, while Rayan shot straight at Lammens, with both chances coming from Ayden Heaven mistakes.

Rayan wasted another chance to end the contest after a Lisandro Martinez stumble opened up a route to goal, but Evanilson eventually knocked in the third after more comedy defending.

Evanilson raced on to a long clearance and nipped the ball past Lammens, who had come charging out of his penalty area, before curling the ball into an empty net.

Bournemouth only won their first league game of the season last weekend, but have now won four consecutive games in all competitions.

Defeat leaves United 16th in the table with seven points after eight Premier League games, while the Cherries climb to 13th.

After a fortnight dominated by the comments of Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez and poor results, Carrick needed a strong reaction from his United players.

He did not get it.

Where intensity was needed, he got sluggishness. Instead of concentration and decisiveness, he got careless mistakes and poor decision-making.

Carrick cannot be blamed for the shortcomings of his players - all three goals were easily avoidable, while further errors went unpunished by the Cherries.

That said, United's lack of identity and structure, particularly in the first half, did not bode well for the manager's future.

If there was a plan of attack, it did not go further than producing hopeful crosses and taking pot shots from outside the penalty area. It took United 40 minutes to register their first shot on target.

This was United's fourth consecutive home league game against Bournemouth in which they have conceded three or more goals and failed to win - that this is just a footnote to the result illustrates the scale of the mess they are in.

The Red Devils have kept just one clean sheet in 12 games in all competitions this season, and that came against Champions League minnows Sabah of Azerbaijan.

Carrick's name was sung at the full-time whistle as, teary-eyed, he completed a lap of appreciation and patted his chest.

Supporters clearly see him as a victim of the club's failures, not the cause. As soon as he disappeared down the tunnel, their applause turned to jeers at the players trudging behind him.

Everything seems to be coming together for Bournemouth following a tough start to the season.

After returning from the international break with a 5-1 defeat by Chelsea, Marco Rose's side claimed impressive wins against Sturm Graz and AC Milan in the Europa League either side of beating Sunderland for their first Premier League victory of the campaign. Now they have won four on the bounce.

Though the Cherries only saw 37% of the ball at Old Trafford, they looked far more dangerous with it as Tavernier and Rayan repeatedly caused issues down the flanks.

Rayan showed supreme composure and technique to volley in the opener, before Tavernier showed desire and hunger to continue into the box and score his fifth league goal of the season.

Though Lammens left Evanilson with an unguarded goal to aim for, the Brazilian forward did brilliantly to curl the ball into the net from 20 yards to notch his fourth goal in his past five outings in all competitions.

His return to form mirrors that of his club, who turn their attention to an EFL Cup tie against Aston Villa on Wednesday, 28 October (19:45 GMT), before playing Leeds next Saturday.

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