Wayne Rooney serves up a goal and assist as United beat Bournemouth 3-1 in the final match of the season. A late Chris Smalling own goal proves costly, however, and denies the Red Devils a thirteenth shut-out in front of their own supporters.
Rooney in the points
Louis van Gaal named a strong starting line-up as Man United clinched fifth place in the Premier League thanks to a 3-1 home win over Bournemouth in the final fixture of 2015/16.
Wayne Rooney opened the scoring with his first effort in eight league appearances and also bagged an assist and maximum bonus points from a central midfield berth to earn a 12-point haul in the Gameweek.
Marcus Rashford’s strike took his tally to five in 11 league appearances and Ashley Young also found the net against Eddie Howe’s side. Anthony Martial and Antonio Valencia, meanwhile, provided an assist apiece to finish the season in fine form. The Frenchman racked up 26 points in his final three league appearances, whilst Valencia – who started the final six matches under Van Gaal – registered an impressive 40 points from a right-back berth over that period.
Smalling error scuppers another shut-out
Whilst the United attackers brought home the points, it was a disappointing evening for those holding United defensive regulars David de Gea and Chris Smalling. De Gea’s chances of earning an 18th clean sheet of the season and sharing the Golden Glove award with Petr Cech were denied after Smalling converted a Max Gradel attempt into his own net in stoppage time.
Adding salt to the wound for the Red Devils defence, Bournemouth failed to register a single attempt on target over the 90 minutes. De Gea was left with two points to take home, then, whilst Smalling’s gaffe saw him produce zero points last night.
Nonetheless, the result still means that Van Gaal’s outfit were joint-first for both clean sheets (18, along with Arsenal) and goals against (35, along with Spurs) highlighting the resilience of their defence at Old Trafford. Despite last night’s disappointment, a tally of 12 shut-outs and nine goals against in front of their own fans was superior to any side across the 2015/16 season.
