Sports desk
LONDON: Manchester United powered into fourth place in the Premier League with a 5-2 rout of struggling Bournemouth, while Leicester City got back on track in a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side boosted their bid to qualify for next season’s Champions League thanks to a swaggering display at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood, who netted twice, were all on the scoresheet to lift United provisionally one point above fifth-placed Chelsea.
Third-placed Leicester are three points above United as the race reach Europe’s elite club competition hots up.
United have won their last four games in all competitions, scoring 13 goals in the process.
They were rocked in the 16th minute when Junior Stanislas gave Bournemouth a shock lead.
Stanislas’ initial effort was blocked but he cleverly nutmegged Harry Maguire on the touchline and shot past David De Gea at his near post.
United hit back 13 minutes later when Greenwood finished off a flowing break for his 14th goal this term.
Fernandes picked out the 18-year-old on the edge of the area and his strike raced past Bournemouth keeper Aaron Ramsdale. United doubled their lead in the 35th minute after Adam Smith was penalised for handball in the area. Rashford converted the spot-kick for his 20th club goal of the season.Martial joined the party in first half stoppage-time. Cutting in from the left, the French striker beat Ramsdale with a superb curling effort from the edge of the area. Martial and Rashford both now have 20 goals in all competitions this season — the first time a United pair have managed that since Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez in the 2010-11 campaign.
Eric Bailly gave Bournemouth brief hope when he conceded a penalty just four minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute.
