ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC missed a penalty and avoided a blatant red card as ten-man Bournemouth held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford this afternoon.
In a match which set tongues wagging from the start as Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw lined up for the first time since December and October respectively, it was star man Ibrahimovic who stole the show.
The Swede went close on goal as United dominated the opening stages, with Benik Afobe also going close up the other end.
But it was the home side who drew first blood when Marcos Rojo pounced in the 23rd minute to score his first-ever Premier League goal.
But the Cherries soon found themselves back in it seven minutes before the break when Phil Jones gave away a penalty with a tug on Mark Pugh.
Ex-United youngster Joshua King fired home from the spot, with Ibrahimovic seeing yellow for dissent.
But the veteran was fortunate not to receive his marching orders before the half-time whistle when he elbowed Tyrone Mings square in the jaw as they jumped at a corner.
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However, replays showed Ibrahimovic was out for revenge after Mings dangerously stamped on his head as he lay on the floor, and both were lucky all match officials present missed the incidents.
But Andrew Surman was clearly missing a four-leaf clover as he received two yellow cards within a minute of each after becoming incensed by the decision to allow Ibrahimovic off the hook.
Both teams came out fighting in the second half, but it looked like United would taking home all three points when Adam Smith handballed in his own box with 20 minutes remaining.
Man of the moment Ibrahimovic stepped up but his effort was saved by Artur Boruc.
United rolled the dice by chucking on Marouane Fellaini, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford all together at once.
But Jose Mourinho was left shaking his head as his side blew the chance to move above Liverpool and Arsenal in the table, with United's top four rivals due to play in today's late fixture.
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
- Eddie Howe was struck down by a bout of gastroenteritis before the game - meaning he daleyed his arrival at Old Trafford until 30 minutes before kick off.
- Luke Shaw was selected to start s Premier League game for the first time since late October. He has not even been in a squad for one since.
- And it was the same for Unitd's record goal-scorer Wayne Rooney - who was last picked to start a league game one week before Christmas.
- The Red Devils knew a win would definitely see them move out of sixth place for the first in more than three months - with Arsenal and Liverpool meeting later.
- And it should have been straight-forward for them against a Cherries team in freefall in 2017 - losing five and drawing two of their last seven matches.
- Josh King's United career was easily forgettable but he now joins a list of only 14 players to score a penalty for an opposing team at Old Trafford.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had an outstanding first season for United - but never really seemed on it from the word go here.
- Surely the Swede will face retrospective action over his elbow on Tyrone Mings - although so too will the Cherries defender for the earlier stamp.
- If he does end up getting banned he will miss the FA Cup quarter final trip to Chelsea - and possibly league games against Middlesbrough and West Brom.
- Andrew Surman's red means 38 teams have had players sent off at Old Trafford in the PRemier League - none of them have gone on to win.
- Artur Boruc is 37 - he might not have many better days than this before he hangs up his gloves.
- It's fair to say referee Kevin Friend will not be considered a mate of many Cherries fans. As well as sending off Surman and letting off Ibra, the penalty for handball looked harsh.
THE BIG PICTURE
Man Utd next five fixtures
FC Rostov (A): 9 Mar – EL
Chelsea (A): 13 Mar – FA
FC Rostov (H): 16 Mar – EL
Middlesbrough (A): 19 Mar – Prem
West Brom (H): 1 Apr – Prem
Bournemouth next five fixtures
West Ham (H): 11 Mar – Prem
Swansea (H): 18 Mar – Prem
Southampton (A): 1 Apr – Prem
Liverpool (A): 5 Apr – Prem
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
Man Utd: De Gea 6, Valencia 7, Jones 6, Rojo 7, Shaw 7 (Rashford 6), Carrick 6 (Fellaini 6), Pogba 7, Mata 6, Rooney 6 (Lingard 5), Martial 6, Ibrahimovic 5
Subs not used: Smalling, Blind, Romero, Herrera
Goal: Rojo 23’
Booked: Rashford, Carrick, Ibrahimovic
Bournemouth: Boruc 9, Smith 6, Cook 7, Mings 6 (Cargill 6), Daniels 6, Surman 5, Arter 6, Fraser 6, King 7 (Gradel 5), Pugh 6 (Gosling 6), Afobe 6
Subs not used: Smith, Allsop, Wilshere, Ibe
Goal: King 40’ (pen)
Booked: Surman, Arter, Gosling
Sent off: Surman
STAR MAN: Artur Boruc
SOCIAL SAYS
Ibrahimovic should get a four game ban for that elbow. Although the FA won't do anything
— Rory
(@HandlerOfDrones) March 4, 2017
THEY SAID
Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho: “I don’t want to look at it, the ref made his decisions. Two penalties he gets right, for me he was good.
“If we didn’t win it was because Boruc had an amazing performance. I’m a football man, I don’t like to speak about what happened during matches.
“If Mings gets a ban I really don’t care, he knows what he did, he knows the intention, I really don’t care.”
“More important is the result, we deserved to win, we missed a good opportunity to close the gap.”
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