The Red Devils were counting their lucky stars not to lose at Bournemouth but their INEOS overlords will view the result as another missed opportunity
Manchester United got away with murder again but they cannot hide from public opinion. Everyone can see they are an absolute shambles. Erik ten Hag's side avoided what would have been a record 13th Premier League defeat of the season away to Bournemouth thanks to a combination of winning a fortuitous penalty and then not conceding one after a VAR review deep into stoppage time overturned a spot-kick for the hosts.
But after a lucky escape you can normally breathe more easily and start to relax. Ten Hag and United cannot do either. They have failed to build on the momentum of their heroic win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
That victory should have provided them with a springboard from which they could gatecrash Champions League qualification. But they have thrown away their chance, despite having the most generous of rivals in Tottenham and Aston Villa.
Getty ImagesThree points out of 12
The day that United beat Liverpool in the Cup, Tottenham had been thrashed by Fulham and Villa had been held to a draw at West Ham. Tottenham had a six-point lead over Ten Hag's side in fifth, while Villa, sitting in fourth, had a nine-point gap.
With next season's expanded Champions League gifting two extra places to the team's finishing fifth in the two highest-ranked European leagues, the race was on.
Now it is off. Since that joyous day at Old Trafford, Villa have taken four points from three games while Tottenham have picked up seven in four. United, inexplicably, have earned just three points from a potential 12 in their four games. And the gap with both their rivals now stands at 10 points with six games to go. And this is despite Tottenham and Villa dropping plenty of points and United having a relatively easy set of fixtures.
Brentford, Bournemouth and Chelsea were all in the bottom half of the table when they faced them yet they were played off the park by the Bees and the Cherries and beaten by two late sucker punches at Stamford Bridge. They should have been targeting between nine and 10 points from those four games but instead have been left with a just a third of their desired haul.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesBournemouth were confident
But what was telling was that while many United fans would have been backing their team to click into gear at the crunch stage of the season, their opponents did not. Just listen to what Dominic Solanke had to say after the 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium.
"Going into the game we were confident. Knew it would be tough game but we told ourselves we had beat them once this season so knew we could do it again," Solanke told . "We created a lot of chances and should've been two or three up but we didn't take the chances and the second half was a tight game."
For Bournemouth, this was not a point earned but two lost, made even harder to digest due to the penalty being taken away from them. "Unlucky to not get it there and thought it would be our opportunity to go on and win it at the end," Solanke added. "To beat United is something we'd love to do, it would've been a good chance to win it at the end so the boys are obviously a bit gutted about that."
Getty ImagesIraola: We were best team
Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola, who masterminded the Cherries' stunning 3-0 win at Old Trafford in December, also seemed disappointed with just a point. Bournemouth had come so close to becoming only the third team to do the double on Ten Hag's side in the same season after Brighton and Manchester City.
"We could not finish it off. We are happy to take a point, and give importance to taking a point against Manchester United, but we think that we deserved the three points," he said.
"We should have begun the second half with a better scoreline. The reason we did not win was because we missed chances and all the refereeing decisions went against us. We were the best team today. We probably have to find a way to win these types of games."
Effectively, this draw felt like a kick in the teeth to his side, who had thrashed United at Old Trafford and deserved more here.
GettyNothing like Real Madrid
But beneath the frustration there was also a sense of admiration from Iraola for his opponents. "United always find goals they don't have to be at their best to find results," he said in his press conference. And then he paid United a compliment they are not worthy of. He compared them to Real Madrid.
Asked how United kept managing to get results they barely deserved, he responded. "Sometimes you are playing against Real Madrid and thinking 'Wow we are doing well against Real Madrid and then boom boom, they score in three seconds and you are losing.
"You think you are doing well against United but if you don't take your chances they always find ways they are very good on transitions, they are difference makers down the other end you could see it today."
Unfortunately, despite their capacity to stay in games they should be dead and buried in, United are light years away from Real Madrid.
