Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has said that his side were made to pay for a lacklustre start in Saturday's Premier League clash with Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
The Cherries took the lead in the fifth minute of the contest through Dominic Solanke, before Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi netted for the visitors in the second half of the contest, with Andoni Iraola's side running out 3-0 winners away to the 20-time English champions.
The Red Devils entered the match off the back of a 2-1 win over Chelsea, but they were second-best against Bournemouth, and Ten Hag has said that a poor start cost his side.
"You have to be at your best in every game, starting with focus. When you start like we did, you get killed. They are good opponents but we have to do better," journalist Shamoon Hafez quotes Ten Hag as saying after Bournemouth's first-ever away win over Man United.
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"I understand they (the fans) are disappointed, frustrated. We all are but we should do better and we have to show it every game - not to have so big levels from one game to another.
"You need consistency, we can play a very good game against many opponents, we are able to do it but you have to do it every third day. Get it right and the demands are of a certain standard. We have to go to higher standards to deliver it every third day."
Man United will now switch their attention to the Champions League, with Bayern Munich heading to Old Trafford on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils need to beat the Bundesliga champions to stand any chance of advancing to the last-16 stage of the competition, and Ten Hag is confident that his side will respond in the European fixture.
"We know we are able to do it, we showed it in the week. We have to leave this behind but we have to talk about it," added the manager after the clash with the Cherries.
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Ex-Man United midfielder Owen Hargreaves slammed the team's performance against Bournemouth, claiming that the empty seats at full time were an indication of what the supporters thought of the display.
"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."
Man United's next Premier League match is away to Liverpool next weekend, and the Red Devils will head to Anfield without their captain Bruno Fernandes, who was booked for dissent in the latter stages of the clash with Bournemouth.
Matt Law
