- Chris Smalling - 28'
- Romelu Lukaku - 70'
Man United ease past Bournemouth as Chris Smalling, Romelu Lukaku net
Manchester United moved to within two points of securing a place in next season's Champions League with a 2-0 win at Bournemouth.
Jose Mourinho backed up his threat to drop some of his stars by making wholesale changes. Goalkeeper David De Gea, Chris Smalling, Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba were the only ones to keep their places from the shock home defeat to West Brom, with De Gea named captain for the first time.
Alexis Sanchez missed out on a place in the starting XI for a Premier League game for the first time since his January move from Arsenal, with Romelu Lukaku also on the bench. Mourinho said that of those rested, only Nemanja Matic was left out with Saturday's FA Cup semifinal against Tottenham in mind.
It was an uneventful first half, but United did manage to find a way through to go in a goal up at the break.
Herrera picked out Jesse Lingard in the box with a superb pass, and he made no mistake to find Smalling with a square pass that left the defender with a simple tap-in.
Josh King has a fantastic chance to equalise 11 minutes after the restart, but he couldn't connect with a fine ball across the six-yard box. King was adamant he was fouled by Luke Shaw, but referee Graham Scott waved away the protests.
The Bournemouth fans were getting increasingly annoyed with the decisions of the ref, and their mood certainly wasn't helped when substitute Lukaku doubled the lead in the 70th minute. The Belgium international latched on to a perfect pass from Pogba and dinked the ball over Asmir Begovic, and there was no way back for the home side.
Game Information
English Premier League Standings
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | +18 | 36 |
| Chelsea | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | +18 | 34 |
| Arsenal | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | +14 | 30 |
| Nottingham Forest | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | +2 | 28 |
| Manchester City | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | +5 | 27 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | +3 | 25 |
| Aston Villa | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 25 |
| Fulham | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 24 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | +1 | 24 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | +17 | 23 |
| Brentford | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | +2 | 23 |
| Newcastle United | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | +2 | 23 |
| Manchester United | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | +2 | 22 |
| West Ham United | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | -8 | 19 |
| Crystal Palace | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | -4 | 16 |
| Everton | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | -7 | 15 |
| Leicester City | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -13 | 14 |
| Ipswich Town | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -12 | 12 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 16 | 2 | 3 | 11 | -16 | 9 |
| Southampton | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | -25 | 5 |
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