Bruno Fernandes demonstrated his leadership by netting both goals as United fought back twice to thwart the hosts. Dominic Solanke opened the scoring for the hosts before Justin Kluivert gave them a deserved halftime lead.
Despite United’s resilience, their aspirations for European football took a hit as they dropped to seventh place following Newcastle United‘s 4-0 victory over Tottenham earlier on Saturday.
Manchester United‘s second season under Ten Hag has been met with significant uncertainty, even 32 games into the campaign. Observers are still unsure what to anticipate from the Dutchman’s team, both from game to game and from half to half.
In the Premier League, United’s struggles have been evident, with their last victory dated back to 9th March, a home win over Everton, which remains their only triumph in seven league outings. Their last away league victory occurred on 18th February against Luton Town.
Recent matches have been particularly disappointing, as they failed to preserve leads against Brentford, Chelsea, and Liverpool within nine days. This string of results has led to a club-record 15 points dropped in the Premier League this season, effectively diminishing their hopes of Champions League qualification.
Against this backdrop, their performance in the recent fixture on the south coast under the late-afternoon sun was lackluster. Bruno Fernandes’ two equalizing goals were the only instances where United managed to find the target, highlighting their offensive struggles.
Source BBC Sport.
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