Bournemouth v Man United player ratings: Brooks 8, Solanke 6; Casemiro 8, Martial 6

United take big step closer to sealing Premier League top-four finish with 1-0 win

BOURNEMOUTH RATINGS: Neto 7: Brazilian keeper beaten all ends up by his fellow countryman, Casemiro, who opened the scoring with a wonderful bit of improvisation, but got down smartly to deny the same player a second. Also kept out efforts from Weghorst and Fernandes with decent stops.

Adam Smith 6: Showed plenty of attacking intent with a series of marauding runs forward on the right as the Cherries grew into the contest, but his crossing often lacked quality. Getty

Illya Zabarnyi 7: Kept his side in the game when he repelled Wan-Bissaka’s left-footed strike, before throwing himself in front of another strike as Shaw tried his luck. Produced yet more heroics to flick Fernandes’ strike wide. Getty

Marcos Senesi 7: Thought he’d done enough to cut out Eriksen’s clipped forward pass, only to inadvertently cushion the ball down for Casemiro to score. Nearly grabbed a last-gasp leveller with a sweetly-struck volley that flew just over. PA

Lloyd Kelly 7: Kept Antony quiet and got a vital challenge in when he just managed to nip in front of the advancing Eriksen. Caused problems at the other end when his inviting delivery was glanced away by Lindelof with Christie lurking. Getty

Lewis Cook 6: Made himself busy all afternoon with a series of important challenges, the first of which saw him thwart Martial with a well-timed block. Booked for a naughty challenge on Eriksen, and he was perhaps fortunate not to see red. Getty

Jefferson Lerma 5: Struggled to give his side a foothold in a game where he was outclassed by United’s trio of Fernandes, Casemiro and Eriksen. Schooled by Garnacho, but delighted the home faithful when he tried to assist Antony in leaving the field. Getty

David Brooks 8: Brilliant to see the winger make his first start for 20 months. Produced some moments of class too, including a beautiful drop of the shoulder to beat his man on the edge of the box. Later forced a wonder-save from De Gea with a driven effort. AFP

Ryan Christie 7: Showed excellent workrate to track back and get a foot in when the hosts were struggling to stem the tide. Did well to divert Smith’s poor cross towards de Gea’s goal but it was a simple stop for the Spaniard. PA

Jaidon Anthony 6: Whipped in a peach of a cross from the lef early on but there wasn’t a single shirt in the box. Looked to stretch his legs on a couple of occasions but was kept on a tight leash by visitors. Getty

Dominic Solanke 6: Sprang to life in 27th minute when he controlled the ball well under pressure and shrugged off the challenges before testing De Gea. Looped a header onto the roof of the net in first-half stoppage time and later fizzed a low effort across goal. PA

SUBS: Kieffer Moore (On for Brooks 56') 5: Just four Premier League goals this season for the bit-part striker, who wasted a big opportunity to grab a fifth when he placed his effort straight at De Ge, who stood up well at his near post.

Matias Vina (On for Smith 66') 6: A final run-out on home turf for the popular loanee. Showed excellent composure at one point to chest the ball back to his goalkeeper at the back post. AFP Dango Ouattara (On for Christie 66') 6: Stretched the United defence on a couple of occasions, including a threaded pass to pick out Moore.

MAN UNITED RATINGS: David De Gea 8: Got down low to his left to save from Solanke in first half Better save with his legs from Moore seven minutes from time when the goalkeeper was the last man. Faultless. Getty

Aaron Wan-Bissaka 7: Right-back, yet an important attacking player for United as he overlapped with Antony. Won the ball back, picked Fernandes out with a pass to set up the Portuguese in second half. Dealt well with Bournemouth’s Anthony. Getty

Raphael Varane 7: Strong – as he needed to be – against Solanke. Smart idea to play a ball between the lines towards Sancho just before half-hour mark. Reuters

Victor Lindelof 8: Crucial for the first as he made an interception to win possession back. His header stopped a 33rd minute Bournemouth attempt on goal and he read the balls forward to Solanke well. Solid to the last and praised by his manager. Getty

Luke Shaw 7: Abused for his Southampton connections by Bournemouth fans, he didn’t look in the slightest bit bothered. Stealing a few extra metres on a second half throw in wound the home fans up even more. Read Ouattara’s movement well enough to nullify his threat. Reuters

Casemiro 8: Overhead kick on the spin from six yards out for early goal. Controlled a loose ball to shoot low on target on five minuites before break. Accurate long balls, usually to Antony. Praised by his manager for his movement and for exceeding expectations. Reuters

Christian Eriksen 7: Curled a ball towards the Bournemouth goal which led to the opener. Short corner attempt with Shaw didn’t work. AFP

Bruno Fernandes 6: Helped United dominate in the first half but gave the ball away to assist a 35th-minute attack. Volleyed shot on target 15 minutes from time, then a struck an 84th-minute effort which was anything but. AFP

Jadon Sancho 6: Worked hard. Came deep, supported Fernandes. Neat, but final ball didn’t come off enough in the first half. Tried to find pockets of space in front of the home defence. PA

Antony 7: Went down heavily in the first half after a challenge. Gave the ball away to set up one first-half Bournemouth attack. Weak shot bobbled across goal just before hour mark. Needs to be more effective in front of goal. Getty

Anthony Martial 6: One shot in first half went well over. Nudged towards goal in the first attack after the break and led an attack with a double one-two on 56. He was substituted ten seconds later. AFP

SUBS: Wout Weghorst (On for Martial 57') 8: Had a shot which came back off the keeper and played a neat ball in the subsequent attack. Defended to stop a Bournemouth attack, then set up McTominay. Getty

Alejandro Garnacho (On for Sancho 72') 7: Came on to chants of ‘Viva Garnacho’. Skinned Lermana to create a chance, but his ball across goal was a poor one. Reuters

Scott McTominay (On for Eriksen 86') N/A. AFP Fred (On for Antony 86') N/A.

Casemiro's spectacular first-half goal proved decisive as Manchester United won 1-0 away to Bournemouth on Saturday to move within sight of Champions League qualification.

Erik ten Hag's side would have been assured of a place among Europe's elite next season had Liverpool lost to Aston Villa but their arch-rivals came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw.

Even so United now need just one point from their remaining two Premier League games this season – with the London duo of Chelsea and Fulham visiting Old Trafford on Thursday and a week on Sunday respectively – to be assured of a Champions League place.

That would mean Ten Hag had achieved his key target in his first season in charge, with United having already won the League Cup ahead of next month's FA Cup final against local rivals Manchester City at Wembley.

Marcus Rashford missed out for three-times European champions United with an unspecified illness, the England forward having also been sidelined from last week's 2-0 win over Wolves due to a leg injury.

But despite his absence, United took just nine minutes to go ahead on the south coast.

Christian Eriksen's floated cross into the box was flicked into the path of Casemiro by defender Marcos Senesi before the Brazilian midfielder hooked in an acrobatic volley.

United were not at their best but did enough to contain Bournemouth, who went close to levelling late on through Kieffer Moore after David De Gea had denied them with a string of reflex saves.

You can see the player ratings from Saturday's game in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile devce.