That's a typical Mourinho win right there. We looked comfortable and organised throughout the match, and going forward, we had a plan and knew what we were doing. We didn't look lost at all going forward, and even when we struggled to build up attacks in the first half, we kept our cool and didn't capitulate under pressure. Even Adam Smith's wonder goal didn't phase us as we continued to look comfortable.
Blind and Bailly looks like a very good partnership so far. Blind did a great job sweeping the game and reading it well. Bailly looked strong, and his aggression was off-putting for Bournemouth's attacking players. It's not just pure physical aggression, though. Unlike Mangala or David Luiz, Bailly shows good composure in his defender and an appreciation of the space that he has to cover. His reading of the game and his positioning is quite good, and he shows a good awareness of what Bournemouth were doing in their attacks. There were 1 or 2 moments where he seemed to be a bit off, but that's where Blind comes in with his sweeping and reading of the game. The full backs were also amazing. Both Shaw and Valencia were great at their marking and difficult to get past. Both offered good support going forward as well though I was hoping for the team to play more often through the left to get Shaw more involved.
The midfield worked out quite well in the end. They looked assured in possession, and their positioning allowed us to maintain our attacks whilst playing players into space. Herrera in particular was quite good at this with his movement allowing him to be a good outlet to the defence, and he linked up well with the attacking players as well, allowing them to get involved and move the ball forward. Bournemouth tried to give him space as his passing range isn't that good, but they struggled to keep up with our front 4's movement, which is what allowed us to be more threatening going forward, especially in the second half. Fellaini did his job well. He won the ball frequently, and his closing down and physicality prevented Bournemouth's midfielders from settling and moving the ball forward. Overall, the team's organization really helped Fellaini as he was able to win many balls with his strong tackling and aggression.
In the first half, our front 4 seemed a bit slow off the mark and didn't settle into the match until the 20-minute mark, but once they did settle, we looked more dangerous going forward. Martial started to get going, and he really improved in the second half with his movement and dribbling. If our passing was more accurate in the final third, we could have threatened Bournemouth much more with Martial and Ibra. Ibra did a great job as the #9. I honestly thought that he and Rooney would struggle together, but in the second half in particular, he was causing Bournemouth lots of problems with his presence. They wanted to close him down but were afraid to leave spaces for others.
In the second half, when Bournemouth started to push up higher, Mourinho's game plan started coming to fruition. That's when we looked even more threatening, and I honestly think that this will work very well this season with the lower Premier League teams feeling more confident about getting points off of the big boys. It's a great first win, and it's honestly the first time in a while that we looked this comfortable. This is the Manchester United I wanted, and I'm happy to finally have it.