Bruno Fernandes delivers alarming admission after Man United’s 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth claiming his team may have thought it could be an ‘EASY’ match

Bruno Fernandes has alarmingly admitted that his Manchester United side may have thought their match against Bournemouth was 'going to be easy' despite a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

Dominic Solanke shocked the Red Devils by scoring within the first five minutes of the match, while Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi both scored in the second half to see Bournemouth extend their unbeaten streak to five games.

But after the match, United's captain praised his team's performance, claiming their level was lower than that of their opponents.

“We missed a lot of things and that's why we don't get the result today,” he said of his team, who could not find the back of the net despite more ball possession and goal attempts.

'Everything was lower than the levels in the previous match and that is why when you play against teams like Bournemouth, who are very aggressive and up front, they put you under pressure and you think it will be easy, you kind of results.'

Bruno Fernandes has blasted his side's 'lack of consistency' after the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth

United suffered their fourth defeat of the season at home to Bournemouth. It was also their heaviest defeat against a side who came into the match in the bottom half of the table

Erik ten Hag admitted after the match that his team lacked focus and eliminated against Bournemouth

United have now built the unwanted record of more losses at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 at the age of 35, than the legendary manager suffered at home during his 21 seasons in charge of the club, 34.

It is also Erik ten Hag's fourth home defeat this season and despite coming into the match on the back of a 2-1 win against Chelsea, the Portuguese midfielder said his team fell short in many areas on Saturday afternoon.

“Everything was underperforming,” he said. 'Creativity, movement and arriving with bodies in the box.

'Usually we came with one or two players, but in the last match we had to get into the penalty area more often to score a goal.'

United also have a tough run of games in hand, with the Red Devils hosting Bayern Munich at Old Trafford in midweek before taking on Liverpool the following Sunday.

They will be without a captain for the match at Anfield after Fernandes was shown a yellow card during the match – his fifth of the season.

“Today, as I said, it underperformed,” he added. “We just lack consistency and that's a big part of football. It is very important to be consistent every game and we are not that.'

His comments were echoed online by former United defender Gary Neville.

'Consistently inconsistent! A terrible result…', the Sky expert wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter).

Despite the defeat, the Red Devils are still just three points behind Manchester City in fourth place.

But Ten Hag also criticized his team after the match, claiming they lacked focus throughout the match.

Dominic Solanke scored a goal for the visitors in the first five minutes of the match

Philip Billing headed in to make it 2-0 after half-time, after which Marcos Senesi scored the third

Fernandes said: “We just lack consistency and that's a big part of football. It is very important to be consistent every game and we are not that.'

'You have to start well and 100 percent focused, so that everyone is enthusiastic. It cannot happen that opponents are more eager than us,” he said BBC Sports.

The Dutchman added: 'We have had good football periods. But there were times when we weren't good enough.

'We make mistakes and you can't make mistakes like that. At this level the opponent will benefit. You can't switch off and we have to work on that.

“If you want to be successful and achieve the goals you set, you need consistent performance and you need to do it every third day.”