Erik ten Hag said he was ‘happy with the result’ after Manchester United maintained their impressive form by beating Bournemouth 3-0 at Old Trafford.
United opened the scoring through Casemiro as the midfielder met Christian Eriksen’s free-kick with a controlled side-foot finish, before Luke Shaw started and finished a fine team move to double the host’s advantage early in the second period.
Bournemouth came back into the game and David de Gea was forced into saves from Dominic Solanke and Jaidon Anthony, before Marcus Rashford ensured a fourth consecutive league win for the Red Devils with a third goal from close range.
“I’m happy with the result. Today it was not our best game. We have to be honest, we didn’t play that smart as a team,” Ten Hag said, as per the BBC.
“We made great goals, but at times we were quite lucky, and some great saves from David [de Gea]. We could have been smarter as a team.
“There were big spaces at 2-0 up, sometimes we have to keep the ball and recognise when to go for goal. That is the next step. It is always good to win 3-0. It was a great performance for the crowd, with scoring opportunities for both goals. To win 3-0 is always good.
“We have to go from game-to-game. The next game is a cup one, but we want to win every game. That has to be the approach. We don’t want to look any further, focus on that, it will be a tough game. We need every energy in the preparation and when we kick off on Friday night.”
It was a sixth straight win in all competitions for the Red Devils, who moved level on points with third-placed Newcastle and have returned from the World Cup break in fine fettle. The result was marred by a serious-looking injury to Donny van de Beek however, and Ten Hag admitted the initial prognosis does not look good.
“We need to wait 24 hours, but it is not looking very good.”
