Man Utd extended their winning run at Old Trafford in all competitions to seven matches against Bournemouth.
Whisper it quietly, but Old Trafford, slowly but surely, is being turned back into one of the most notoriously difficult grounds to visit on the Premier League circuit.
Manchester United made an emphatic start to 2023 on Tuesday evening, beating Bournemouth 3-0 in M16 to extend their winning run in the league to four matches. Goals from Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford sealed a routine win for Erik ten Hag’s side, tightening their grip on a top-four berth in the process.
The Reds are now five points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and just a point behind Manchester City, who face Chelsea on Thursday evening, in second. United’s rapid improvement under Ten Hag this season has been built on both their much-improved defensive record and no longer suffering from stage fright at Old Trafford.
Victory over Bournemouth not only marked United’s seventh successive home win but also their tenth win in 13 home games in all competitions this season, meaning they are now only three short of equalling last season’s tally of 13 victories on their own patch. The Reds have played three matches in M16 since the season resumed a fortnight ago following the World Cup and have won each of them, scoring eight goals and conceding none.
While they were always favourites to get the better of Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, there have been too many instances in the past where they have come unstuck and, at times, been embarrassed by those they were expected to sweep aside with relative ease. Although United had David de Gea to thank to preserve a fourth successive clean sheet in all competitions against the Cherries, United controlled the game from pretty much the first whistle, dictating the pattern of the play and taking the game to the relegation-threatened Cherries. It was the exact same story against Forest a week earlier, in the sense that they dominated proceedings.
If you cast your mind back to last season, United were beaten by Aston Villa and Wolves on their own patch, forced to settle for a point by both Everton and Southampton, and only scraped past the likes of Crystal Palace and Norwich City by the odd goal. This season, however, there is a completely different feel about United when they walk out onto the hallowed Old Trafford turf, so much so that you expect them to win every time.
It is the first time, arguably, since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 that winning home games has become something of a staple for United. They no longer pander to the needs of weaker opposition, refusing to go in hard on them. They are a different kettle of fish under Ten Hag nowadays.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have all been beaten in M16 this term, highlighting their ability to put the very best to the sword. Brighton & Hove Albion and Real Sociedad, the only two clubs to leave Old Trafford with a victory in the bag this season, ought to feel proud, such is the way that Ten Hag has turned the Theatre of Dreams back into a fortress again.
Not only have United racked up the wins on their own patch this term, they have also racked up the clean sheets, too. They have kept eight in 13 Old Trafford outings, conceding just seven goals in all competitions. You have to go all the way back to September 4 for the last time United conceded at home in the Premier League – a run of five matches, keeping out Newcastle United, Spurs, West Ham United, Forest and Bournemouth since Bukayo Saka scored for Arsenal.
You would never have imagined that United would be capable of that after what happened last season and in previous years. Former Reds bosses Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, all in the post-Ferguson years, experienced their fair share of embarrassing results at home, losing to a collection of teams that United would have expected to breeze past with relative ease.
With the exception of the opening day defeat to Brighton, Ten Hag is yet to feel such pain and discomfort, such is the way he has transformed United’s style of play to control matches and impose themselves on the opposition. They are now in charge of their own home.
Despite winning each of their last two home games by an aggregate score of six goals to nil, they still remain short in attack, highlighted by the missed opportunities they squandered against Bournemouth. Nevertheless, they are a force to be reckoned with on their own patch once again.
SOURCE: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
