Bournemouth 2-2 Man United: Maguire red card and two penalties gift — Frustrated Fernandes fumes

Interim boss Michael Carrick and his Manchester United did not lose at the Vitality Stadium on Friday night, but they did not win either and right now, that difference matters enormously. 

Bruno Fernandes scored, created, captained, and still walked away with one point when three were there for the taking. 

Twice United led, twice they gave it back, and when Harry Maguire was sent off in the 78th minute, a teenage substitute named Junior Kroupi stepped up and buried the penalty like a man who has been taking them for years.

The Maguire red card was the turning point nobody in a United shirt wanted, especially after Amad was earlier denied a penalty before Bournemouth’s first equaliser of the night. 

With ten men and a one-goal lead to protect for twelve minutes, United's defensive fragility, already tested by injuries to Matthijs De Ligt and Lisandro  Martinez, was brutally exposed. Bournemouth, unbeaten in ten, had found their lifeline. Kroupi made sure they took it.

Despite a controversial end and result, United remain third with 55 points, their Champions League place still intact. 

But with Maguire suspended, De Ligt and Martinez injured, and the Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Manchester City on Sunday reshaping the top four conversation, this is a dropped two points that could hurt before the season ends.

Fernandes did everything a captain could do. He scored, he created, he led. United still gave it away. That is the story of this Manchester United season in one Friday night in Bournemouth.