EPL Roundup: Bournemouth beat Manchester United 2-1, Manchester City move top of the table
Bournemouth made another giant-killing as they beat Manchester United 2-1 to move up the table and further away from the relegation zone. This is their second consecutive win after beating Chelsea last weekend. The result takes them temporarily above Chelsea into 14th place.
Meanwhile, Manchester City beat Swansea 2-1 to temporarily top the table with Leicester City second on goal difference. The Foxes play Chelsea on Monday night.
Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United
Bournemouth started the game on a high, taking the lead in only the second minute of the game. Junior Stanislas opened the scoring when he took a corner kick that went directly into David De Gea’s goal. The Spanish goalkeeper misjudged the trajectory of the ball as it curled in and only managed to get his fingertips to it before it went in.
However, Manchester United equalised in the 24th minute through Marouane Fellaini. The move was started by Michael Carrick who fed Memphis Depay with a through ball. The Dutchman took a shot after cutting in from the left but the attempt was saved. But the big Belgian managed to get into the mix and put the ball in the back of the net.
Nine minutes into the second half, the Cherries took the lead again through another set-piece. Matt Ritchie’s corner kick was taken low and literally passed into the box where an unmarked Joshua King took a shot with his right foot and blasted it straight down the centre of the goal. The fact that nobody intercepted the initial pass was bewildering as the former United youth player celebrated his goal with glee.
Although six minutes of injury time were played, United couldn’t come back into the game and they remain in fourth place – three points above Tottenham who have a game in hand.
Manchester City 2-1 Swansea
After the sacking of Garry Monk, a managerless Swansea almost came away from the Etihad with a point before an injury time winner allowed Manchester City to take all three points. City coach Manuel Pellegrini had benched Kevin De Bruyne as Jesus Navas was handed a start alongside David Silva and Raheem Sterling.
Former Swans striker Wilfried Bony had put Manchester City ahead in the 26th minute when he headed home from a Navas corner in the 26th minute. The Welsh side’s captain Ashley Williams was at fault for failing to track Bony.
But it was the visitors who looked more likely to score throughout the game. Gylfi Sigurdsson played in an advanced role and he tested Joe Hart, as did Wayne Routledge. But with time running out, Swansea replaced Andre Ayew with Bafetimbi Gomis in the 83rd minute.
The substitution worked as Gomis got on the scoresheet for the first time in the Premier League after scoring on the first four matchdays of the season. His goal in the 90th minute from a Federico Fernandez through ball seemed to have earned the Swans a point. But Yaya Toure’s deflected shot off Kelechi Iheanacho in the 92nd minute gave City the win.
Man City moved to the top of the table with the result while Swansea are now just above the relegation zone having played one game more.
Other EPL results
Norwich City 1-1 Everton (Wes Hoolahan; Romelu Lukaku)
West Ham 0-0 Stoke City
Sunderland 0-1 Watford (Odion Ighalo)
Crystal Palace 1-0 Southampton (Yohan Cabaye)