Manchester United have been held to a 1-1 draw by Bournemouth in a highly controversial Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Marcos Rojo and Joshua King got the goals for their respective sides, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tyrone Mings face the prospect of receiving three-match suspensions after a unsavory incident at the end of the first half.
Bournemouth were reduced to 10 men after Andrew Surman pushed Ibrahimovic after the flash point, but Eddie Howe's men were superb at the back during the second half while Ibrahimovic also missed a penalty as United failed to heap the pressure on their rivals for a top-four place.
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United could, and perhaps should, have opened the scoring during the early stages of the game but shortly after Wayne Rooney had headed over, Paul Pogba saw a low drive well saved by Artur Boruc.
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Up the other end, Benik Afobe failed to make the most of running clear of the United defence as he slipped when trying to round David De Gea, before United responded through Anthony Martial who was denied by Boruc.
As the game moved towards the 20-minute mark, Martial was again prevented from netting his eighth of the campaign when Boruc saved at the near post, but it did not take much longer for United to score the goal which their play deserved.
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After a corner was only half cleared, Antonio Valencia's low shot from 25 yards was diverted into the corner by Marcos Rojo for his first Premier League goal in his 54th appearance.
It appeared to be a case of when, rather than if, United would net a second but with six minutes of the first half remaining, Bournemouth equalised when Joshua King sent a penalty into the top corner after Phil Jones had fouled Marc Pugh.
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However, the talking points of the first half came in added-on time as Surman received a second yellow card for pushing Ibrahimovic, who appeared to deliberately elbow Mings after the Bournemouth defender had stamped on his head in a previous exchange.
Both players were extremely fortunate to avoid any further sanction and will most likely be on the receiving end of retrospective action, but Bournemouth returned for the restart feeling aggrieved with Surman's first yellow card coming after what seemed to be a legitimate challenge on Luke Shaw.
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With tensions running high at the break, it was a surprise to see a low-key start to the second half, but United eventually seized control and pushed forward for a second.
Rooney had a shot deflected over the crossbar from inside the penalty area, while Pogba was denied by Boruc once again as the Pole tipped a 25-yard effort wide of the post.
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Bournemouth were doing an effective job in nullifying United's threat in the final third but with 20 minutes remaining, they again felt hard done by after Adam Smith was adjudged to have handled Pogba's attempted cutback inside the penalty area.
Ibrahimovic stepped up to take the kick but his low shot to Boruc's right was expertly saved by the goalkeeper, who was enjoying one of his best matches in a Bournemouth jersey.
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Jose Mourinho had introduced Marouane Fellaini, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford in the hope of creating more opportunities in the final third but as the game entered the final 10 minutes, the home team were struggling to break down the Cherries.
In added-on time, Pogba scuffed a volley from 10 yards when it appeared easier to score, and that proved to be United's final chance as Bournemouth held on for their first point in five league fixtures.
Darren Plant
