Bruno Fernandes apologises for ‘unacceptable’ Manchester United display

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has apologised for an unacceptable performance against Bournemouth lacking the requisite quality, effort and aggression.

Erik ten Hag won the Carabao Cup during a promising first season in charge but the Dutchman’s second campaign has been a roller coaster with more lows than highs.

United’s season reached a nadir on Saturday afternoon as Bournemouth won at Old Trafford for the first time in their history, with the hosts fortunate to escape with only a 3-0 defeat.

It was a remarkable drop-off from Wednesday’s 2-1 win against Chelsea and led exasperated Ten Hag to admit they 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.

“If you don’t do your job, you’re not going to win the game.”

Similar words and explanations have been heard during a challenging season that has seen United lose 11 of their 23 matches in all competitions.

Did yesterday actually happen?