Red Devils determined to start 2023 with a bang


Image copyright: Getty Images 

 

2022/23 English Premier League

Matchday 19

Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth

Old Trafford

Manchester, England

Tuesday, 3 January 2023

Kick-off is at 22h00  

 

Manchester United will be looking to continue where they left off in 2022 at Old Trafford when they host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Tuesday, January 3.

 

The Red Devils are hoping to turn the Theatre of Dreams into a fortress again under Erik ten Hag and they returned to action after the World Cup break with a 3-0 home victory over Nottingham Forest on December 27.

 

Marcus Rashford (19'), Anthony Martial (23') and Fred (87') scored the goals as Ten Hag's side extended their unbeaten run at home to six matches since suffering a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Brighton on the opening weekend of the campaign.


Anthony Martial
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Ten Hag felt United should have killed the game off sooner against Forest and has urged his players to show more ruthlessness in front of goal.

 

"We have to score more goals," the Dutchman said. "I think we created so many chances, it takes us until just before the end to make the third goal.

 

"I think we have to finish the game in earlier moments. I think just after half-time, we created two really good chances and we have to finish the game.

 

"I think our players can score, you can see that, Martial is a goalscorer, Rashford is a goalscorer, Bruno Fernandes scores goals, so we have a lot of players who can score goals but we have to be ruthless."

 

The Cherries made steady progress under Gary O'Neil following the dismissal of Scott Parker on August 30 but a 2-0 loss to Chelsea on December 27 was their fifth defeat in six outings.


Dominic Solanke
Image copyright: Getty Images 

 

O'Neil had gone unbeaten in his opening six matches as caretaker manager before being handed the reins on a permanent basis on November 27 and he admitted it was tough to get a foothold in the game after Kai Havertz (16') and Mason Mount (24') put the Blues in the driver's seat early on.

 

"We struggled to get to grips with how they started," he said. "The start kills us really and it's difficult from that point to wrestle your way back into it.

 

"The boys gave it a good go. To be 2-0 [down] at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea moving the ball in the way they were, it's very easy for it to get to three, four, five.

 

"There's reasons for why it didn't look as good as it should have and positives as well from the second half. The boys stuck to it and we were competitive for a large part."

 

Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)

Matches - 5

Man United - 4

Bournemouth - 1

Draws - 0

 

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Published: 01/03/2023