Paul Pogba continues hot streak as Manchester United sweep aside Bournemouth

This honeymoon will stretch into the new year. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ideal start to his second life at Manchester United continued with a comfortable 4-1 victory over a floundering Bournemouth at Old Trafford, and with Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford showing the value of a manager who trusts in talent.

Two goals from Pogba – the first sublimely and incisively created by Rashford – were followed by one for Rashford himself and one for the returning Romelu Lukaku, who made his first appearance under Solskjaer from the substitutes’ bench and fitted neatly into this new age.

Nathan Ake’s consolation hinted that work must still be done of the defensive side, while Solskjaer could have done without Eric Bailly’s late red card, and it cannot be denied that United’s last three opponents were easy pickings. Questions remain over how they will fare under Solskjaer against sides of the same calibre.

Yet here was evidence, again, that Solskjaer has had a positive effect in what little time he has had. United hoped to improve the culture and environment around the club with his appointment and each game so far has offered a moment which suggest something has changed for the better.

Here, it was the build-up to their opening goal and specifically, the verve and skill of Rashford. Out on the right-hand touchline, seemingly hemmed in, he twisted, turned and suddenly span the ball around a helpless Nathan Ake. Diego Rico was then dispatched with a drop of the right shoulder and a lurch to the left. Rashford could now drill the ball across the face of Asmir Begovic’s goal, where Pogba’s outstretched right leg could divert it in.

Again, like with Pogba’s long-range brace against Huddersfield four days earlier, or the one-touch play for the third goal in Cardiff before Christmas, or the all-round adventure in this team’s passing and movement, you wondered Rashford’s flamboyance would have been tolerated a few weeks ago.

Pogba arrived late in the penalty area once again half an hour later to double United’s lead. Ander Herrera hung a searching cross over Begovic’s near post and Pogba rose, totally unchallenged, to nod home. It was his fourth goal in his last two appearances and ninth of the campaign, putting him level with Anthony Martial as United’s top scorer of the season to date.

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Rashford deserved some of the spoils for his opening bit of tricky alone and got in on the act on the cusp of half time. The youngster had to stretch to meet Martial’s intelligent, dinked cross over the heads of the Bournemouth defence, but his connection was enough to turn the ball around Begovic and into the far corner.

There was, however, still enough time left in the half for Bournemouth to remind Old Trafford that Solskjaer’s arrival is no panacea and his work is far from done. Ake had already been unlucky not to equalise at 1-0, when he saw a goalbound header blocked unwittingly by Herrera and David de Gea.

When David Brooks revived a failed short corner and clipped a cross to the near post, Ake made sure he would not be denied this time. United have looked vulnerable on set plays all season and just as much in Solskjaer’s three games as under Mourinho. The caretaker is still waiting for his first clean sheet.

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Still, Solskjaer’s first priority was always going to be to extract the best out of the envious collection of attacking talent at his disposal, one that was simply not being used correctly by his predecessor. The interplay between Pogba, Rashford, Martial and Jesse Lingard on display here suggested he is already on his way to achieving that.

There were some in Old Trafford wondering how Lukaku, named on the substitutes’ bench after being absent for Solskjaer’s first two games, would fit back into this newly free-flowing United. Their answer came a minute after his introduction, when he latched onto Pogba’s chip over the top of Bournemouth’s defence and lifted the ball over Begovic for the fourth.

The only sour note would be Eric Bailly’s sending off for a straight red-card offence, namely sliding through Ryan Fraser’s ankles. The Ivorian, starting under Solskjaer for the first time, could have little complaint and will now miss United’s next three matches, including the trip to Wembley to play Tottenham Hotspur.

That fixture is a fortnight’s time is a reminder that United have much tougher tests to come down the line and Solskjaer’s start has been a gentle one. Bournemouth, who have now lost eight of their last ten league outings, were unlikely to offer much resistance. Yet the old cliché about beating those in front of you is a cliché because it is true.

Solskjaer becomes only the third United manager to win his first three games in charge. The other two? Sir Matt Busby and one Jose Mourinho.