Journey of Man Utd: Defeated Chelsea but could not surpass Bournemouth

Being a Manchester United fan means being ready to go through a roller coaster of emotions. The Red Devils can achieve an unexpected victory, then immediately be left with disappointing results. An example of this case could be seen last week. Man Utd is again showing problems with inconsistency under Erik Ten Hag. They cannot play stably from match to match.

Manchester United has shown this problem since the start of the season, but no one thought the condition was bad enough. Ten Hag also had to shoulder some of the blame for his tactical decisions. The Dutch coach's concoction was right in that match. He substituted Marcus Rashford, who in the previous week received heavy criticism from fans for his disappointing performance in the match against Chelsea.

The Red Devils' players show their fighting spirit. Chelsea didn't play badly, but Man Utd proved they could play effectively. At that time, MU's two winning goals were scored by Scott McTominay (19', 69'). The Blues equalized through Cole Palmer (45'). Just a few days after performing well in the victory over Chelsea, Man Utd immediately disappointed fans with their poor performance against Bournemouth, on Saturday 9 December 2023. It's as if the Red Devils have two faces and they performed far below standard in this match, especially at the back. The Cherries would have scored three goals without reply (3-0) at Old Trafford.

For some reason, coordination between players seemed very bad in this match. Man Utd did not move when Dominic Solanke (5'), Philip Billing (68') and Marcos Senesi (73') found Andre Onana's goal three times. Two contrasting results and performances in just a matter of days, only MU can do it. They appeared impressive when they won over Chelsea, exceeding expectations. Then, a few days later, a very poor performance was below standard when humiliated by Bournemouth. Many factors make United unable to be consistent, but in this case, Ten Hag must share responsibility, he makes strange decisions in the selection of tactics and players.

The starting XI and tactical choices that made them win over Chelsea were not retained. Ten Hag even changed the starting XI when Man Utd played Bournemouth, so they lost. There should be no pressing reason for Ten Hag to tinker with his starting XI and tactical choices.