Tim Sherwood claims Manchester United’s players ‘threw the towel in’ during 3-0 thrashing by Bournemouth at Old Trafford, as he insists Erik ten Hag’s side have ‘got away with it’ in recent weeks

Tim Sherwood claims Manchester United players “threw in the towel” during their 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday.

Goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi added to United’s malaise and increased the pressure on Erik ten Hag.

The defeat saw United set an unwanted top-flight home record, suffering their fourth home league defeat of the 2023–24 season.

Sherwood then criticized United’s players and suggested they concede defeat midway through the match.

Talking about Sky SportHe said: “I think the performances were just as bad but they got away with it. They improved against Chelsea because they didn’t have to take the game to their opponents. They could play counter-attacking football.

Manchester United suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

Tim Sherwood has since criticized the Red Devils’ performances in recent weeks.

“There is nothing wrong with being a counter-attacking team, but when a team wants to relax, you need to find a way to open it up.” There is no one in them with any imagination or creativity except Bruno.

“Credit to Bournemouth. They had a game plan, they stuck to it and were even-handed in finishing the game. But very rarely have I left my chair thinking that Manchester United should score here. Bournemouth played quite comfortably.

“We’re talking about a team in 16th place going from home to Old Trafford. I have every right to think that Manchester United, with world class players and the money they have spent, can break them down and score.

“But they got worse. “In the second half they came out and it looked like they had thrown in the towel, which was disappointing for their fans watching the match.”

United are three points off the Champions League spot after defeat at home to Andoni Iraola’s side but have played a game more than their rivals.

Dominic Solanke made the early breakthrough and stunned the crowd before second-half goals from Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi capped a poor performance.

The performance also came under scrutiny from former midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who described the Red Devils’ performance as “embarrassing”.

The Cherries scored three goals to hand United their fourth league defeat at Old Trafford.

Former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves described United’s performance as “disgraceful”.

“Listen to the screams, look at all the empty seats,” Hargreaves told Premier League Productions.

“The fans have spoken. The performance was disappointing and remained that way throughout the season.

“You have to praise the team (Bournemouth) who play the right way and have good attacking players. They deserve praise. They played exceptional today.”

Interestingly, it was United’s heaviest defeat at home to a side who had climbed out of the bottom half of the table at the start of the weekend, with Bournemouth now up to 13th in the standings, level with Chelsea, Brentford and Wolves with 19 points.