Full Time
Bournemouth won 3-0 at Old Trafford, with Manchester United booed off after a dismal Matchweek 8 afternoon. Rayan opened the scoring in the 38th minute at the far post from a Justin Kluivert free-kick, Marcus Tavernier made it two just before half-time after Leny Yoro slipped, and Evanilson added a third in the 71st. Michael Carrick left captain Bruno Fernandes on the bench and the changes at the break didn't help; the fans aimed their anger at the owners rather than just the players. That's eight league games without a win for United, with the pressure on Carrick growing, while Bournemouth have now won back-to-back league games and four in a row in all competitions under Marco Rose.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Manchester United are 13th on seven points, with one win from seven league games, and Michael Carrick is feeling the heat. Several previews say a defeat at Old Trafford could put his job in real doubt. Bournemouth have six points and have lost three of their seven, so a win would lift them well clear of the awkward end of the table.
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2The last time these two met, in March 2026, it finished Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United. It was a decent day out for the Cherries, who have a habit of turning up at Old Trafford and not being impressed. United will want to avoid being the team that gets a story told about them.
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3Player to watch: Bruno Fernandes. United's captain reportedly criticised the manager and the tactics after the midweek 4-1 loss at Como, and now there are questions over whether he starts. If he plays, watch the body language. If he doesn't, that is the headline. Either way, it gives you something to say at half-time.
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4The subplot is the form guide pointing in opposite directions. United have lost 4-1 at Como in midweek and have a growing injury list, with Patrick Dorgu, Benjamin Šeško, Luke Shaw and Manuel Ugarte reported out. Bournemouth come in on a high after beating AC Milan 3-0, and have won their last three games, scoring eight and conceding none. Leny Yoro is back from suspension for United.
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5The hook: Bournemouth's 3-0 win over AC Milan was described as the biggest win in the club's history, a sentence that would have sounded ridiculous not that long ago. A small club from the south coast beating a European giant, then heading to Old Trafford to face a wobbling one. If you only watch one thing on Sunday afternoon, make it the mood in the stadium after the first twenty minutes.
Team Talking Points
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1The big news is that Michael Carrick looks to be on his way out. On Thursday morning Sky Sports reported that United have a verbal agreement in principle with Mauricio Pochettino to take over. Carrick took training on Wednesday and is officially still in charge, but he's expected to go before the weekend.
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2There's a catch. Pochettino is currently managing the USA national team and has a reported £7m release clause, so United still have to agree a deal with US Soccer. He's expected to take charge of the USA's two games against Haiti this break first. It's a slightly awkward way to hand in your notice.
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3If it happens, Pochettino would be United's eighth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired 13 years ago. United have also talked to him on three earlier occasions. Mention that and a fan will either laugh or stare into the middle distance.
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4The reason is the league table. United go into the international break in the bottom three. Their last game was a mad 4-4 draw with Aston Villa at Old Trafford, where they came back from 2-0 and 4-2 down with two stoppage-time goals. Brilliant entertainment, still in the relegation zone.
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5Whoever is in the dugout, the return fixture is a nasty one: Liverpool away on Sunday 22 November. After that come Sporting in the Champions League and Brentford at home. A new manager will barely have time to learn the names of the training ground staff.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Eighth permanent manager since Fergie, if Pochettino signs. At this point Old Trafford needs a revolving door, not a dugout.
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Avoid saying
"Carrick just needs more time." Fans who were saying that a month ago have mostly moved on to arguing about Pochettino's release clause. You'll sound like you're reading last month's paper.
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1Bournemouth are the form team nobody's talking about: last weekend's 2-1 win at Ipswich made it eight wins in a row in all competitions. Even better, it's four straight league wins – something they hadn't managed in a single season since December 2023.
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2It's a proper turnaround story. Marco Rose's side didn't win any of their first six Premier League games (three draws, three defeats), and now they're up to seventh on 15 points, just three behind the top four. Drop 'they were winless after six games, you know' and watch people do the maths.
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3Striker Evanilson is red hot. He scored inside five minutes at Ipswich after nicking the ball off the goalkeeper and rolling it into an empty net, and that's now five Premier League games in a row with a goal – the first Bournemouth player ever to do that.
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4The bigger clubs are circling. Arsenal are reportedly keen on young forward Eli Junior Kroupi, although the word is Bournemouth have no intention of letting him go before the summer. It's the price of being good at spotting talent – everyone else eventually notices.
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5There's an England angle too: defender James Hill was called up to the senior squad this week as cover after Ezri Konsa dropped out of training. Not bad for a club whose matchday squad still costs a fraction of the Premier League's big spenders.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Eight wins on the bounce and Evanilson can't stop scoring – Bournemouth have gone from 'winless after six' to sniffing round the top four in about six weeks.
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Avoid saying
"Bournemouth are just a nice little seaside club" – they've won eight straight and are three points off the Champions League places. Patronise them now and you'll look daft by Christmas.