Ten-Man Manchester United Thwarted Twice As AFC Bournemouth Draw Yet Again

Bournemouth thwarted Manchester United at Vitality Stadium on Friday night in a match which saw the home side come from behind twice to secure yet another point for Andoni Iraola's side.

On a day where Bournemouth's Alex Scott was feeling the pain of non-selection for his country, England team-mate Harry Maguire also had a day which also took a dip, as he conceded a penalty and got sent off in an absorbing ding-dong on the south coast which ended all square.

A draw is not a very surprising result for the Cherries, and it now means that Andoni Iraola's men have equalled Fulham's recent 2020/21 record of notching five draws in a row. There are still two games to go for Bournemouth to equal the Premier League record of seven, set by Norwich, Man City and Southampton - but with Arsenal and Newcastle ahead, you cannot rule it out, especially considering the respective fixtures last season at the Emirates and St James' Park, both of which were Cherries victories.

Manchester United will be perhaps satisfied with a point, especially with Bournemouth seemingly been their "bogey team" of late, however, after a first half where they registered eleven shots to Cherries' five, they'll perhaps be rueing their inability to be more clinical when it mattered - with memorable last-ditch blocks from Adrien Truffert and Djorde Petrovic keeping them at bay in what was an absorbing first 45.

Iraola's side had their chances too, often on the counter-attack, the clearest coming when Evanilson played Brazilian team-mate Rayan through, however the youngster scuffed his shot and it went wide when he probably should have done better. Later on, the young star, recently called up by Carlo Ancelotti, also had another effort saved low down at the near post after the ball was won well by Hill.

The second half began with real intent, as Bournemouth came out on the front foot and immediately put them under pressure, looking sharper for a quarter of an hour, however, a moment of (sadly not uncharacteristic) madness from Alex Jiminez shifted the momentum completely and a tug-back led to a stone-wall penalty for United which was duly converted by Bruno Fernandes.

Within six minutes however, Cherries were level, after a flowing move found Ryan Christie on the edge of the box, who slotted the ball home between the legs of the United defender to make it 1-1. The celebrations however were somewhat stunted as earlier in the same move Adrien Truffert appeared to tug back Amad Diallo in the penalty area, but VAR ruled it was not sufficient enough a challenge for anything to be overturned.

United however, made it 2-1 less than five minutes later, as a high corner into the six-yard area was flicked on by Senesi before ricocheting off Hill into the net.

Cherries came close to hitting back again, with Alex Scott smashing an effort against the bar, but not long after, a second leveller arrived, after a slick passing move saw Kroupi put Evanilson through on goal, and with no cover behind him, Maguire had little choice but to haul him down. The result was inevitable: red card and penalty.

With Tavernier and Kroupi facing off to decide who would taken it, it was the diminutive Frenchman who won the argument, dispatching with aplomb, ensuring Boscombe were back in the game - with time left to win it.

However after this point, Manchester United's game management was solid, and Carrick's side saw the game out relatively comfortably.

Another draw, this time an enthralling one, but again - another result which does nothing for a European football push, and with Andoni potentially set to leave Vitality Stadium in the summer, there is an empty feeling in the stomach of many an AFCB fan at the moment - and a three week break of no-football will certainly not help that whatsoever!