Disappointed captain Bruno Fernandes does not believe the build-up to the Europa League final can be an excuse for Manchester United's disappointing home defeat to West Ham.
Ruben Amorim's Red Devils are heading into next week's decider against fellow Tottenham after they secured a 4-1 semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao on Thursday to secure a 7-1 aggregate victory.
However, United struggled to return to action three days later as goals from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen gave West Ham their first Premier League win at Old Trafford since 2007.
The 2-0 defeat left the hosts in 16th place in the table and Amorim were furious as the club's worst campaign in the Premier League era reached a new record for failure.
“It's a very disappointing result at home,” said United captain Fernandes. “We wanted to win after our last game in the Europa League. We were obviously very confident.
“I think we created enough opportunities to score and take the lead. And when you don't take your chances, you end up conceding when you're in complete control of the game.
“But this season we have had situations like this quite often: we are in control of the match and suddenly we can’t score, and then we concede because of a minor foul in the penalty area.
“However, we understand that we have to significantly improve our game in the Premier League, become more aggressive, attack the opponent’s penalty area more often, be more dangerous and more effective.”
Fernandes lamented United's familiar lack of sharpness while Amorim made six changes, prioritising freshness ahead of the Europa League final despite their Premier League struggles.
Discussing the captaincy change and workload balancing at this stage of the season, he noted that it makes things difficult, telling MUTV: “No, it can't make a difference because everyone has been training hard and is fit, so everyone is ready to go on the pitch at any moment.”
“That’s why I don’t think it’s decisive, because the whole team is ready for it.
“Every chance and every opportunity is a chance to get into the starting lineup, so you have to take your moment, you have to take your opportunity.
“It doesn't matter if you've played more or less, if you have a chance and you do everything right, then eventually you can get on the pitch.”
United will be looking to end a seven-game winless run in the Premier League against Chelsea on Friday.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
