Goals from Marcus Rashford and substitute Romelu Lukaku ensured Manchester United bounced back from their West Bromwich Albion humbling as they beat a struggling Bournemouth 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night.
With one eye on a FA Cup semi-final tie with Tottenham Hotspur, Jose Mourinho rung in the changes as the likes of Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Nemanja Matic all warmed the bench.
Young forwards Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, said to be disillusioned with life at Old Trafford, lead the line in a 4-3-3 alongside Jesse Lingard while the Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw also featured in the starting XI.
The first real chance of the tie fell to Jordon Ibe after a well-worked break had seemingly caught the Red Devils cold, but the former Liverpool winger flashed his shot wide of the post, much to the relief of David de Gea.
United started to hit their stride after that and Rashford would fashion a chance for himself by showing tenacity to tackle a dawdling Nathan Ake near the half-line, but Asmir Begovic made a smart stop to deny the visitors from taking an early lead.
Mourinho’s men weren’t to be denied for long, however, and got their breakthrough via a goal that had a slick interplay between the likes of Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard before the latter laid it on a plate for Chris Smalling to tap-in two minutes before the half-hour mark.
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The interval came with the score reading 1-0 in favour to the visitors, but they found themselves barely hanging on to their lead as the second-half commenced.
Luke Shaw, afforded a rare start by Mourinho, was lucky not to have conceded a penalty after tugging back Callum Wilson inside the box when the Cherries man seemed certain to score the equaliser.
Phil Jones would be next to make an ungainly challenge in the penalty area but much to the disbelief of the home crowd, referee Graham Scott waved away any appeals.
Mourinho knew his side needed another goal to make certain of the three points and sent on Lukaku on the hour-mark.
And the Belgian delivered with aplomb, latching on to Paul Pogba’s through ball and finishing well past the onrushing Asmir Begovic to give the Red Devils some breathing space with 20 minutes left in the tie.
The Cherries’ fight dissipated after that and United held on for a morale-boosting win, which saw them extend their lead over third-placed Liverpool to four points.
They next take on Spurs in a high-profile cup semi-final on Saturday while the Cherries have the weekend off as they next game comes on April 28 when they visit relegation-threatened Southampton.