90% passing, 4 aerial duels, 10 clearances: United starlet deserved better from madcap Bournemouth draw

Manchester United played out a rollercoaster 4-4 draw with Bournemouth which left both sides feeling short-changed. There were positives for Ruben Amorim to take from the game, but he will be seething after United let a lead slip three times. Defensive duties The Red Devils started the game with a perilously inexperienced backline, Amorim’s hand forced through injury. Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw started either side of 19-year-old Ayden Heaven, who acquitted himself surprisingly well in a chaotic defence which shipped four. Heaven made ten clearances, more than anyone else in red, and made one tackle. He did, however, not block a single shot or make an interception in a blunt-force kind of performance. Progressive promise The teenager has always been good with his feet and showed it again today with some neat progressive play. Heaven completed one of his two attempted dribbles, an impressive feat considering his deep-lying role. He was also effective in duels, winning four of his five aerial clashes – no United player won more. On the ground, he came out on top in two of four contested duels. Good on the ball The youngster’s ball retention was impressive; he only lost possession five times, the least of any of Amorim’s starters to complete the full 90 minutes. Only United’s metronome Bruno Fernandes took more touches than Heaven’s 54, and the 19-year-old also made the second-most passes of any United man and did so with a deeply impressive 90% accuracy, finding his man with 35 of his attempted 39. Heaven managed one key pass and was accurate with the one long ball he attempted. PlayerAyden Heaven Goals0 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.01 Tackles (won)1 (1) Interceptions0 Clearances10 Blocked shots0 Recoveries3 Ground duels (won)4 (2) Aerial duels (won)5 (4) Fouls1 Key passes1 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes35/39 (90%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)8/11 (73%) Passes in own half (acc.)27/28 (96%) Long balls (accurate)1/1 (100%) Touches54 Dribbles (successful)2 (1) Possession lost5 Total shots0 Shots on target0 Shots blocked0 At the end of the day Heaven was part of a backline which conceded four goals, but the youngster showed some very positive signs under intense pressure at the heart of the defence. Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.