10 December 2023 , 13:51
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Bruno Fernandes has apologised to Manchester United supporters for an unacceptable performance against Bournemouth.
Erik ten Hag has seen his side lose 11 matches already this season and his promising debut campaign - in which they won the Carabao Cup and reached the FA Cup Final, as well as securing a top four finish - is now a distant memory.
United’s season reached a nadir on Saturday afternoon as Bournemouth won at Old Trafford for the first time in their history. The hosts were lucky to only lose 3-0 against Andoni Iraola's side. It was a remarkable drop-off from Wednesday’s 2-1 win against Chelsea on home soil and led an increasingly frustrated Ten Hag to admit that his side are not good enough to play on a high level consistently.
“(I want) to apologise for the performance,” skipper Fernandes said. “It was not acceptable, starting on me. I’m not talking about anyone else.
“But I think everyone agrees in the dressing room that the performance was (not) at our level and we have to perform much better. It was underperforming on quality-wise, on effort-wise and not aggressive as we did in the last game against Chelsea.
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“If you don’t do your job, you’re not going to win the game.”
(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)United have won 11 times this term and drawn once in all competitions, but those 11 defeats stand out like a sore thumb and are ensuring pressure is mounting on Ten Hag and his team.
“I don’t know [why it was so different to Chelsea] but it’s been consistently like (this),” Fernandes told MUTV. “When we win a game, the next one we don’t perform in the same way we did before.
“I don’t know if it’s like a lack of concentration or focus or something else, but it’s something that we have to be aware that after winning a game we have to get that consistency of winning games. Even sometimes [if we are] underperforming but getting the result.”
United now need to press reset and find the right attitude to avoid being sent into a tailspin as they head into a crucial week. First up comes Tuesday’s key Champions League clash against Bayern Munich, with the Red Devils only progressing if they win and the other Group A game between Copenhagen and Galatasaray ends in a draw.
Then comes a Premier League trip to rivals Liverpool next Sunday – a match Fernandes will miss after collecting his fifth booking of the season against Bournemouth.
“Obviously it’s good (that we play soon),” Fernandes said. “Obviously we know that now the next game is going to be really tough. We have to win and obviously wait for a good result on the other game for us.
“But we have to do our job first of all, and thinking and understanding that is going to be a tough game for us. But we are capable, more than able, to get the result.”
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]