AFC Bournemouth travelled to Old Trafford on Sunday to face Manchester United in the Premier League.

The home side had just flown back from a hammering on the shores of Lake Como in the UEFA Champions League, whilst AFC Bournemouth made the trip off the back of their most prestigious victory in the club’s history, having beaten seven-time European Champions AC Milan 3-0 at Dean Court in the UEFA Europa League.

The two sides couldn’t have come into the game in any more contrasting situations and there was certainly a storm engulfing Old Trafford, as the Cherries dominated from start to finish in front of a disgruntled 70,000 Manchester United supporters and 3,000 jubilent AFC Bournemouth fans.

The result was another 3-0 victory for AFC Bournemouth, Manchester United’s heaviest defeat at Old Trafford since… well, since AFC Bournemouth last beat them 3-0…

The Cherries were on the front foot from kick-off, and their intense work rate and press consumed Manchester United, something they never found an answer to.

AFC Bournemouth dominated the opening exchanges, but it wasn’t until a perfectly delivered free kick found Rayan at the back post, who controlled his volley to open the scoring, that the Cherries had their deserved lead.

Manchester United probably had their best effort moments later, but this was dealt with easily enough by Petrovic.

Minutes later and that all-consuming press, this time from Truffert, forced the Manchester United player into an error, panicking under pressure, he slipped, let in Truffert to easily cut back for Tavernier to double the lead before half-time.

If anyone had assumed that Manchester United would come out all guns blazing in the second half, then they would be wrong, as inside the opening minute, AFC Bournemouth had the ball in the back of the net again; that all-consuming press had Manchester United in a panic once again; however, Evanilson was denied by the offside flag.

Evanilson, however, wouldn’t be denied his place on the scoresheet, leaving the very best till last to cap off a fantastic dominant performance at Old Trafford.

Man of the Match against Manchester United?

Hill

Tavernier

Rayan

Evanilson

Antonio

Petrovic

Kluivert

Truffert

Cook

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, AFC Bournemouth head coach Marco Rose said…

“Happy with the performance, the attitude, the clean sheet, three goals. We were ready for this game. We heard the noises this week, had to be focused, aware of what was coming up and play our own game.

“It was never a thought about the fans and United. It was always about us. We knew that United, like us after the Chelsea game [that Bournemouth lost 5-1], would want a reaction.

“We wanted to be front-footed. We wanted to be brave and we played brave. We have good players and we showed it. We were just Bournemouth today.

“I feel a lot of empathy for my colleagues, for everyone. People must understand that we are just humans trying to do our job in the best possible way.

“When the game starts it is about the lads, sometimes about momentum, a bit of luck. It is never easy. I feel empathy for Michael.”

SlowDownDerek

Huge credit must go to the manager for dealing with the schedule we’ve had after a tricky start and turning everything around. Players are coming back now too!

ForHeavensSake

That was about as comprehensive a 3-0 win for AFCB I’ve seen for a while. It could have been six or seven. Our team made ManU look about as insipid as you could imagine. Our boys delivered in style.

BillyTheKid

Two teams came out today at Old Trafford, one out of sorts and the other full of confidence.

The Cherries were superb today and, after beating AC Milan 3-0 on Thursday, did the same to Manchester United today.

Our last four visits to Old Trafford, AFCB have won three of those games 0-3, and last season we drew in a 4-4 draw.

Garry Neville was full of praise for our side today and the way our club is run; he also gave MOM to Rayan.

We didn’t see the cameras much on our fans, but they could be heard throughout the game; great credit to them.

So another great day for our fans and our side moved up to 13th in the table. Goalscorers for AFCB: Rayan, Tavernier and Evanilson.

Evanilson’s goal was from by a player on top of his form and full of confidence; it was special.

Herbs

What a week. Got married, smashed 3 past Milan and Utd and 4 clean sheets on the bounce. Proud of this club.

N19

I know there’s lots of superlatives about the result, but I just thought we looked so good. Our football was gorgeous, and it really is such a pleasure to watch us at the moment. Despite the result against Chelsea, I even enjoyed that game too.

ChrisCooke

James Hill is like having two players on the pitch. Always there to help his old mate Smithy out when he’s done for pace.

fritter

Neville said there were no United players that would make the Bournemouth team. I think he’s right. What an incredible thing to have achieved.

Garbo

What a trip to Old Trashford!

We took the game to them and were far sharper on the ball. Great team performance; the one thing that Rose has done is get Tavernier to get into the box more, and this has culminated in his goal returns so far this season. It was good to see Rayan taking a leaf from Doak’s book and taking on defenders more in this game. Our press was excellent and caused United a heap of problems. What can you say about Evanilson, probably the most football ‘savvy’ player that we have ever had?
Superb defending from our back line, especially Silva and Hill, who seem to be connecting much better.
So much to admire about the player’s resilience to put together this punishing run of games…..let’s pinch ourselves we have thrashed AC Milan and Manchester United over four days.
Can it ever get any better?
In the famous words of Mick McCarthy, “It can”

alwaysacherry

I’ve been fortunate enough to be at our last 4 games at Old Trafford. Might be recency bias, but I think the win yesterday was the best of the lot in terms of overall performance. We pretty much controlled the game for 90 mins, never really looked like conceding, and created a hatful of decent chances and should have scored more. Our press and overall aggressiveness all over the pitch was insane; we were just too strong for them. As others have said, I wouldn’t swap a single one of our players for one of theirs, which is quite remarkable when you stop and think about it. Kudos to Rose for getting us back to our Iraolaball best and finally realising and utilising the squad effectively. Hard not to view the rest of the season full of hope and optimism – what a time to be a Cherry!

Les48

What a week for OUR football club. It is such a privilege to be a Bournemouth supporter at the moment. Our love for this club has been built on real football, turbulent times, and a real feeling of community amongst fans. So much more satisfying than fake support for a bigger club, followed because they hear the name continually mentioned or they feel they are expected to support clubs like Citeh. Bournemouth supporters should be the envy of all clubs. – To join the conversation, please click here.