Manchester United’s hopes of gaining a top four spot in Jose Mourinho’s maiden season took a blow at the weekend as they once again failed to dispatch a side they should be easily picking up three points against at home, when ten-man Bournemouth managed to leave Old Trafford with their first ever point at the Theatre of Dreams.

The fallout from the battle between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cherries defender Tyrone Mings has dominated the post-match coverage over the past week, meaning reports will detract from United’s poor showing against a side who are yet to register a win in the calendar year. Zlatan got a 3 game ban and Tyrone Mings got a whopping 5 game ban both for violent conduct (updated March 8th, 2017).

The Red Devils, despite breaking a poor Bournemouth back line on many occasions failed to take their chances in Saturday’s early kick-off, having put three past a much better Southampton side in the EFL Cup final last weekend.

It was the imperious Ibrahimovic who was the difference against Claude Puel’s Saints side, whilst those around him arguably faltered, six days before the visit of another south coast outfit.

However, with the big Swede, who cannot be expected to play at full tilt week-in, week-out, not at his best and distracted by his confrontations with Mings, you would expect the talents of Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial to be able to take his place as the match winner.

However, no performance was forthcoming and Mourinho was left scratching his head once again after a decent showing failed to translate into maximum points, as was the case against Stoke, West Ham and Hull City earlier in the season.

The former Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager has since admitted that their confusing home form could be the difference between making the Champions League spots and not. There is still a real chance that the Red Devils could qualify for Europe’s blue riband competition should they lift the Europa League come the end of the season, however, the Portuguese will not want to leave their fate down to a final, regardless of his cup record.

Fans, then, will be looking for something to make the difference in the increasingly difficult Premier League run-in.
It is no coincidence that, in losing summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan against St. Etienne before the Cup final against the Saints, the Red Devils have struggled when on the front foot.

You can argue that the three goals against Southampton mean that there is no issue there, however, in truth they were poor goals from a defensive perspective.

Mkhitaryan can deliver the inspiration and would like nothing more than to deliver revenge a dish best served cold and the Armenian can certainly inspire the Red-Devils. It won’t be easy but it can be done and Henrikh can lead United to the prize.

Therefore, it will be a huge boost for the Old Trafford faithful to learn that the former Borussia Dortmund star, who has emerged as a key man after a slow start in Manchester, looks set to be back in the fold for the FA Cup trip to Chelsea this weekend.

The Armenian international has been a threat on the front foot ever since he earned a regular starting spot and can now make a real difference as Mourinho looks, against the odds, to break the top four. The odds are against Jose but expect a tactical masterclass which could deliver a big upset for the Red-Devils.