Tim Sherwood claims Manchester United’s players ‘threw the towel in’ during their 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag’s side suffered the disappointing Premier League defeat after goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi struck for the visitors.
The defeat saw United set an unwanted home record in the top-flight, as they suffered their fourth home defeat in the league during the 2023-24 campaign.
Afterwards, Tim Sherwood lambasted the United players and suggested they admitted defeat midway through the clash.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: ‘I think the performances have been as bad as this, but they’ve got away with it. They improved against Chelsea because they didn’t have to take the game to the opposition. They could play counter-attack football.
Manchester United suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon
Afterwards, Tim Sherwood slammed the performances of the Red Devils in recent weeks
‘There’s nothing wrong with being a counter-attacking side but when a team wants to sit back, you have to find a way of opening them up. They are devoid of anyone with any imagination or creativity apart from Bruno.
‘Credit to Bournemouth. They had a game plan and pounced on it and were clinical in their finishing. But very rarely was I off my chair thinking Manchester United must score here. Bournemouth were quite comfortable.
‘We’re talking about a team in 16th going away from home to Old Trafford. I’m within my rights to think Manchester United, with world-class players and the money they’ve spent, should be able to break them down and score.
‘But they got worse. In the second half, they came out and it looked like they had thrown the towel in, which is unfortunate for their fans watching on’.
United remain three points adrift of the Champions League places after their home setback to Andoni Iraola’s side but have played a game more than their rivals.
Dominic Solanke made an early breakthrough to stun the crowd, before second-half goals from Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi capped off a miserable outing.
The performance also saw United come under scrutiny from former midfielder Owen Hargreaves – who labelled the Red Devils’ showing as ’embarrassing’.
The Cherries struck three times to hand United their fourth league defeat at Old Trafford
Former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves labelled United’s performance as ’embarrassing’
‘Listen to the boos, look at all the open seats,’ Hargreaves told Premier League Productions.
‘The fans have spoken. The performance was embarrassing and it has been like that all season.
‘You have to praise a team [Bournemouth] that plays the right way with good attacking players. They deserve the praise. They played exceptionally today.’
Interestingly, this was United’s heaviest defeat at home against a side who came into the start of the weekend in the bottom half of the table, with Bournemouth now rising to 13th in the standings, level with Chelsea, Brentford and Wolves on 19 points.
