Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe: 'Manchester United defeat tough to take'

Manager Eddie Howe has admitted that he had been left disappointed by Bournemouth's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.

Bournemouth dominated the early stages and took an early lead through Callum Wilson, but a last-minute Marcus Rashford goal condemned the Cherries to defeat on the south coast.

Howe has acknowledged that he had been impressed by his team's performance - especially during the opening 45 minutes - but felt that his side should have been in command of the game.

The 40-year-old is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "A tough one for us, a lot of our play was really good especially during that opening period. We created chances and we were disappointed we weren't winning at half time as we deserved to lead by more than one.

"They made some good substitutions but I'm very pleased with the effort, That's one of the best first-half performances I've seen since we've been in the Premier League and I can't fault them in terms of effort.

"Full credit to Manchester United for sticking in the game, it couldn't have been easy for them, some of our movement was second to none. The first goal we conceded could probably have been avoided."

Bournemouth remain ahead of United in the top-flight standings on goal difference.