A remarkable, chaotic, mesmerising Premier League thriller at Old Trafford captured the imagination even of the clinical operators in the dugout.
“Really difficult to explain,” said Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola. “But I prefer 4-4 to 0-0.”
“Fun,” was Manchester United counterpart Ruben Amorim’s initial observation.
Analysing for Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher went further.
“The best game of the Premier League season so far,” said the former England and Liverpool defender. “It was almost a throwback to Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United with attacking football.
“It is the best I have seen Man Utd. For the majority of the game, they were absolutely fantastic.
“For the first time under Amorim – and first time in a long time – I felt like I was watching what Man Utd are supposed to be. Wave after wave attack, but the inability to defend has hurt them.”
For the record, Ferguson took charge of two games when United scored four and didn’t win.
The first was a significant factor in his side’s failure to win the 2012 title as United threw away a 4-2 lead and drew 4-4 with Everton at Old Trafford.
The other was Ferguson’s very last match, an extraordinary 5-5 draw at West Brom in 2013.
Amorim has a very long road ahead before he can be compared to Ferguson.
But at least, on a night when his side led twice in the first half, then fought back to get their noses in front again after conceding two in a matter of minutes at the start of the second, and finally had to settle for a point as Bournemouth finished the stronger, he understood what everyone had witnessed.
In a vibrant first half, the hosts’ had the highest non-penalty xG value (2.49), most shots (17) and joint-most touches in the opposition’s box (30) of any side in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League match this season.
“If you understand a little bit,” Amorim said. “If you follow the club like I follow the Premier League for so long, you [know you] have not just the duty to try to win the games. The way you try to win the games is so important for the fans.
“Of course they are desperate to win, but also, I feel that they are desperate to be inspired when they come to Old Trafford.
“Today was inspiring, I think, also because of Bournemouth. But in the end that’s the feeling of frustration of not winning the game.”