Manchester United won 1-0 away at Bournemouth thanks to Casemiro's spectacular overhead kick, moving the Red Devils one step closer to competing in the Champions League next year.
With two games remaining, the victory on the south coast and Liverpool's defeat of Aston Villa helped United tighten its hold on a top-four berth. Erik ten Hag is now close to fulfilling his main goal for his first season as manager.
Although Ten Hag's team wasn't at its best, after they took the lead, they restricted a determined and well-organized Bournemouth to a few chances, with David de Gea in fine form to stop Gary O'Neil's team whenever they threatened.
The squad will be guaranteed to finish in the top four if they draw against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Thursday.
After nine minutes, United took the lead thanks in large part to good fortune, although Casemiro's quick thinking and improvisational ability were largely responsible for the goal.
The boot of Marcos Senesi unintentionally flicked on Christian Eriksen's floating pass into the box. Casemiro was set up by the defender's interference, and with one fluid motion, he swiveled acrobatically and smacked a shot on the turn past Neto to give United the ideal lead.
The game calmed down as United maintained a huge portion of possession and searched for openings behind Bournemouth, the majority of which were successfully closed by O'Neil's team.
Dominic Solanke got the following genuine opportunity. When Aaron Wan-Bissaka harried him off the ball after a long, reaching pass came invitingly at his feet, the opportunity appeared to have been lost. But Solanke was unfazed, and after recovering possession, he cut inside United and created space for a low shot that De Gea expertly blocked.
Casemiro attempted to pull off the remarkable once more when he hit a thunderous drive on the first attempt from 35 yards that Neto was able to catch and hold.
Overall, though, Bournemouth completed the first half with the lead, with Solanke reminding United of his and his team's threat by placing a header just wide with the final play before halftime.
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