"Some of his passing in the second half has been woeful" - Chris Sutton hits out at Manchester United star after 3-0 Bournemouth defeat 

Football pundit Chris Sutton minced no words to describe Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes' performance in the 3-0 Premier League home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday (December 9).

Coming off a hard-fought 2-1 home win over Chelsea in midweek, the Red Devils came unstuck against the visiting Cherries, dishing out a lackadaisacal performance at Old Trafford.

Dominik Solanke opened the scoring in the fifth minute, and there would be no looking back for Andoni Iraola's side. Phillip Billing made it 2-0 in the 68th minute before Marcos Senesi rubberstamped the win five minutes later.

Having missed a penalty in the Chelsea win earlier in the week, Fernandes was far from his usual level as United were comfortably overrun in midfield. Sutton told BBC Sport that the Portuguese was ranting, as he was frustrated with his own performance:

“Bruno Fernandes ranting and frothing at the mouth, but the referee Peter Bankes not taking any nonsense, that’s the way it should be.

"You can understand the frustration, but, maybe, he should be angry at himself. Maybe he is angry at himself because some of his passing in the second half has been woeful.”

Despite the defeat - their seventh in the league - Erik ten Hag's side remain sixth in the standings but are 10 points behind leaders Liverpool. To add insult to injury, Fernandes will miss the trip to Anfield next week due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

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"We did many things wrong today" - Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes admitted that his team were comfortably second-best against the Cherries on Saturday.

Bemoaning the Red Devils' lack of consistency, the Portuguese playmaker said that the team cannot afford to drop their level and hope to go unpunished. He told BBC Match of the Day:

"We did many things wrong today. Bournemouth deserved the win today. They were more intense than us, more eager than us. We should have performed better. We should expect the intensity of the game.

"We are not consistent enough. If you wan to be in the top spots, you have to do it every three days. It is about understanding we need our level every game. If you drop your levels a little bit, you get punished."

Fernandes has been one of United's top performers this season, bagging five goals and as many assists in 21 games across competitions.