Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho insists that his side are still in the race for a top-four finish, despite dropping points against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Red Devils and the Cherries played out to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford when Joshua King’s penalty cancelled out Marcos Rojo’s 23rd-minute opener before Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a penalty which cost his side maximum points.
United now remain sixth in the Premier League standings with 49 points, having won 13 out of 26 matches played so far this season, trailing fifth-placed Arsenal by one point.
Mourinho admits that his sides haven’t been in the best of forms at Old Trafford after dropping points at home in recent weeks.
‘The reality is we are losing too many points at home. These matches at home against Hull, Burnley, Bournemouth, Stoke – it’s more of the same,’ Mourinho told the Manchester United website.
‘We play well, we start well, we have one chance in the first minute and another in the third or fifth minute. But then their goalkeeper gets confident and he is eventually the Man of the Match.’
However, the Portuguese manager believes the Red Devils are still very much in the race for the top four in the Premier League this season.
‘Are we dead in relation to the top four? No. We are not dead – there are matches to play, points to win, points to lose, points to fight for – but the reality is we are losing too many points at home.
‘If you look at the points we’ve lost at home – all the matches where we draw – if you accumulate these points, you’re thinking about 10 or 12 and, with these points we wouldn’t just be speaking about the top four – we’d be speaking about the top two or the top one.’
Manchester United will now turn their attention to the Europa League when they take on Rostov on Thursday.
The match at Stadion Olimp 2 kicks off at 20:00.
Image: Manchester United website