Michael Carrick’s decision to drop his outspoken captain Bruno Fernandes resulted in Manchester United’s most toothless display of the season, as Bournemouth romped to a 3–0 win on Sunday.

Given the damning nature of the playmaker’s comments midweek, Carrick had little choice other than to drop Fernandes, who pointedly called out the tactics in Wednesday’s 4–1 thrashing against Como. United’s under-fire manager explained his skipper’s absence as a “pure football” decision. But even in his current underwhelming run of form, Fernandes remains the club’s best creator.

If that status wasn’t already abundantly apparent, Fernandes’s teammates rammed that point home at Old Trafford, failing to lay a glove on a Bournemouth side which represent everything that Manchester United lack. If Fernandes’s future is uncertain, Carrick’s is even more precarious.

One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Fernandes’s only Premier League goal contributions this season came in a 5–2 romp over newly promoted Ipswich Town. That hazy day in August feels an awfully long time ago. It’s been two months and six top-flight appearances of blanks for Fernandes and Manchester United as a collective, who have yet to record another Premier League win in that time.

Carrick left Fernandes to stew on the bench against Bournemouth but there was no response from his teammates. In truth, that is to be expected. For all his struggles, the captain leads his team for chances created and expected assists this season. Without the injured Marcus Rashford and Benjamin Šeško, Carrick’s decision to drop his last remaining source of creativity was always at risk of backfiring.

A series of calamitous, if not out of character, mistakes helped Bournemouth find the openings their cohesive system could very easily have picked out regardless.

As Fernandes has proven throughout this season, his presence would not have necessarily spared United from another humiliation—he was right there, huffing and puffing his way through a three-goal margin of defeat to Como in midweek. If anything, his spot on the bench underscored the futility of Carrick’s grand show of strength which aptly captures his impact on the club at large.

Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Bournemouth (4-2-3-1)

GK: Senne Lammens—4.8: Beaten by three Bournemouth players and, to really rub salt in the wounds, by the spin of the ball while conceding the last of the goals on a day to forget.

RB: Leny Yoro—5.6: Bizarrely lackadaisical, playing without any of the urgency expected from a player at a club in the precarious position in which Manchester United currently find themselves.

CB: Harry Maguire—6.0: Inspired some of the loudest roars of the afternoon by simply running forward with the ball—which told you everything you need to know about the expectations of the crowd.

CB: Ayden Heaven—6.6: Offered about as much authority as a substitute math teacher in front of an unruly class.

LB: Diogo Dalot—6.7: Clumsy and clunky when pushing up the pitch, Dalot didn’t look all that comfortable in his own defensive third.

CM: Carlos Baleba—6.0: One of United’s brighter performers, offering a whisper of intent and energy.

CM: Andrey Santos—7.1: Desperately tame on and off the ball.

RW: Amad Diallo—6.8: Whatever credit he may earn for actually trying to pick a way through Bournemouth’s rearguard was balanced by every single effort falling flat.

AM: Youri Tielemans—5.2: Hooked at halftime after offering precious little threat. Tielemans didn’t manage a shot, create a chance or take a touch in the opposition box.

LW: Mason Mount—7.4: Impressively anonymous when starting on the left wing, Mount managed to remain just as painfully ineffective even after being shunted centrally.

ST: Bryan Mbeumo—6.2: Ferreted around without any purpose, direction or threat.

SUB: Matheus Cunha (46’ for Tielemans)—6.5: Caught up to the speed of the game as quickly as his teammates, ensuring he was off the pace right from the start of the second half.

SUB: Lisandro Martínez (65’ for Heaven)—6.2

SUB: Joshua Zirkzee (72’ for Baleba)—6.0

SUB: Shea Lacey (78’ for Amad)—6.3

Subs not used: Karl Darlow (GK), Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Bruno Fernandes, Tyler Fletcher.

What the Ratings Tell Us

• The fact that Diogo Dalot, a right-footed right back who has scored a grand total of one Premier League goal at Old Trafford during his eight years and counting at the club, was the main source of Manchester United’s attacking width down the left wing, neatly sums up the club’s current struggles.
• It’s damning with faint praise, but Carlos Baleba was a tentative positive for Manchester United. The punchy midfielder always showed for the ball, snapped into a tackle and played the ball forward when he could. Yet, that status is worth about as much as being crowned the hairiest bald man.

The Numbers That Explain Man Utd’s Latest Collapse

• Manchester United’s striker Bryan Mbeumo took more kickoffs (three) than shots (two).
• This was the third time that Manchester United have gone in at halftime while trailing by two or more goals under Michael Carrick. They only suffered that fate twice across Ruben Amorim’s entire, disastrous tenure.
• Manchester United’s only clean sheet of the season remains a Champions League victory over Azerbaijan outfit Sabah FK.