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Manchester United beat AFC Bournemouth 3-0 on Tuesday night at Old Trafford to draw level with Newcastle on points in the Premier League table.
Casemiro scored in the first half and Luke Shaw added United’s second right after the break to set Erik ten Hag’s side on their way to a win that leaves them on 35 points from 17 games, equal to to third-placed Newcastle but trailing on goal difference.
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United missed a flurry of late chances to add a third before the club’s top scorer this season, Marcus Rashford, added one more to his tally late on to put the seal on another impressive victory.
“I’m happy with the result, today it was not our best game,” Ten Hag said. “We have to be honest, we didn’t play that smart as a team.
“We made great goals, but at times we were quite lucky, and some great saves from David. We could have been smarter as a team. To win 3-0 is always good.”
United, who have now won four in a row since play resumed following the World Cup, host Everton in the FA Cup on Jan. 6, while Bournemouth play Burnley.
Old Trafford has become a much more daunting place for United this season and they were looking to set a run of four straight home league wins without conceding for the first time since 2017.
Ten Hag made four changes from the win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on the weekend and that seemed to disrupt his team’s flow as they struggled to create many early openings.
One free kick unlocked Bournemouth, however, with Christian Eriksen fizzing a pinpoint cross onto the boot of Casemiro, whose controlled finish ensured his second goal for the club.
One downside to an otherwise smooth opening period for United was an injury picked up by Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek on just his second league start of the season.
Shaw then started a flowing move that he completed with a sweeping finish in the 49th minute for his first United goal since March 2021.
That sparked the visitors into life, with goalkeeper David De Gea forced into a trio of fine saves to keep Bournemouth out.
United youngster Alejandro Garnacho then struck the post as the home side responded before Rashford scored for the fourth successive match in all competitions four minutes from time.