Erik ten Hag refused to entertain a question about potentially overseeing Manchester United’s worst Premier League season and has not given up on Champions League qualification.

Seventh-placed United suffered another setback in an underwhelming campaign after requiring a Bruno Fernandes brace to scrape a scarcely-deserved 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.

United have never finished below their current position since the league’s inception in 1992.

“I don’t comment on that question,” replied Ten Hag as he walked out of his post-match press conference when asked about the prospect of ending below seventh place.

“That is not important at the moment.”

Ten Hag’s men were tormented by impressive Bournemouth for much of an uninspiring outing at Vitality Stadium and twice trailed in the first half following goals from Cherries pair Dominic Solanke and Justin Kluivert.

United, who have a lengthy injury list, particularly in defence, sit 10 points adrift of the top four with only six games remaining on the back of just one win from seven matches.

Asked if the Champions League places were now beyond his team, Ten Hag replied: “No. I didn’t say that.

“We give what we can but I am also realistic, so when the full squad was there, I still would have said I believe.

“But we will keep fighting with the players who are available and you can see there is high potential.

“But also young players they make mistakes. They have proved they can compete with the best teams on the highest level but now they have to do it consistently. There is always the next step for young players.”

Solanke and Kluivert each capitalised on passive United defending to fire beyond Andre Onana, while Bournemouth also missed a host of first-half chances and struck the crossbar through Milos Kerkez.

Fernandes briefly levelled between those strikes and, having hit the bar from distance, equalised for a second time with a 65th-minute penalty after Adam Smith was punished for handling Kobbie Mainoo’s harmless deflected effort.

United looked set to face a stoppage-time penalty before breathing a sigh of relief when VAR intervened to rule Willy Kambwala’s challenge on Ryan Christie was outside the 18-yard box.

Ten Hag, who revealed centre-back Harry Maguire played with an injury issue in the first half, dismissed the suggestion his players are lacking motivation.

“I have been in football a very long time and they are very motivated,” said the Dutchman.

“We are motivated but the organisation wasn’t right and we lost balls where we shouldn’t and the pressure of the opponent.

“But our players are better than this.

“The good thing is we returned twice from losing positions. The spirit is good, the resilience is good.”

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola questioned the consistency of top-flight officiating after falling agonisingly short of securing his club’s first league double over the 20-time English champions.

The Spaniard felt Kambwala’s challenge on Christie continued into United’s 18-yard box and deemed Smith’s handball “very harsh”.

“It’s not only about the important decisions,” said the Premier League’s manager of the month for March.

“It’s about Kobbie Mainoo diving in the first half, nothing happens; Ryan Christie, with much more contact, dives in the second half, yellow card. It’s about consistency.

“We are safe, yes, but you have to value our points, the same way you value United’s points – in the same exact way.

“The last decision, for the VAR to intervene for something that should be clear and obvious, the first touch between the players can be one centimetre outside, it has to be clear, but it’s obvious he continues making the offence inside and doesn’t allow Ryan to finish the play.”

Speaking of Smith’s handball, Iraola said: “It’s very harsh. It’s coming from his own team-mate, a rebound.

“You are two metres away, you don’t have time to do anything. They are going in the right way with the handballs because at one moment they were calling everything but today they changed their way of refereeing.

“At the end, one point against United is always important. But if anyone deserved to win today, it was clearly Bournemouth.”

Bournemouth had an added-time penalty award overturned by VAR as disjointed Manchester United escaped Vitality Stadium with a scarcely-deserved 2-2 draw thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ brace.

Referee Tony Harrington pointed to the spot five minutes beyond the 90 when Ryan Christie went down under a challenge from Willy Kambwala before changing his decision to a free-kick on review.

Erik ten Hag’s men were tormented for much of an uninspiring performance in Dorset and twice trailed in the first half following goals from Cherries pair Dominic Solanke and Justin Kluivert.

Fernandes volleyed home his first equaliser against the run of play before denying the impressive hosts a maiden league double over the 20-time English champions by converting a 65th-minute penalty after Adam Smith inexplicably handled.

United’s Portuguese captain also rattled the crossbar with a stunning strike from distance at 2-1 down in stoppage time at the end of an exhilarating opening period.

Yet outstanding Bournemouth, who hit the woodwork through Milos Kerkez and wasted numerous other chances, should have have been out of sight by then.

United move on to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final against Coventry sitting seventh in the table and with European qualification for next term still far from assured following another disappointing display of an unconvincing season, which extended their winless run to four top-flight games.

Steve Clarke spoke of his pain after Scotland lost 4-0 to the Netherlands in their friendly encounter in Amsterdam which served as the start of preparations for Euro 2024.

The visitors started well and hit the goal frame through Ryan Christie but the Dutch took the lead five minutes from the break with a Tijjani Reijnders drive.

Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland hit the bar in the 62nd minute with only goalkeeper Mark Flekken to beat and they were made to pay 10 minutes later when Georginio Wijnaldum headed in a second.

Goals from substitutes Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen in the 84th and 86th minutes then made it six games without a win for the Scots, with 18 goals conceded ahead of the friendly against Northern Ireland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night.

Scotland have not gone six matches without a win since a run from October 2007 to September 2008 and Clarke said: “We lost 4-0 which is painful.

“The players are suffering and I am suffering but there was lot of good stuff, we were very competitive with a good Dutch team for 70 minutes.

“It’s a lot of goals (18) and if you concede that amount of goals you are not going to win games.

“We spoke about it before so obviously we know we have to tighten up.

“The reaction to the second goal so probably something we need to think about, how we dig in and show we are hard to beat and if it finishes 2-0 it finishes 2-0.

“We have to be a bit more streetwise against the top teams and they are a top team.

“I didn’t say a lot after it, when emotions are as high as they are after a sore defeat it is better to go back to the hotel.

“I will sit with my staff, analyse the game and try to prepare something that we can show to the players tomorrow.

“No wins in six so we have to stop that on Tuesday night.

“But there is a lot to be positive about. People can look at the scoreline and go negative, that’s up to them.

“For 70 minutes… really competitive against a top side, we can take a lot from that. We have to analyse the last 20 minutes or so and look to do better.”

There had been a clamour for Shankland to start and despite his glaring miss, Clarke gave his backing to the Hearts captain.

He said: “He’s a striker, people forget strikers miss a lot as well as score a lot of goals, they gave to be in the right position and do the right thing.

“Lawrence will score goals in the future.

“I thought his all-round play was good, he didn’t let his side down.”

A late collapse by Scotland saw Steve Clarke’s side lose 4-0 to the Netherlands in their friendly encounter in Amsterdam.

The visitors controlled much of the first half and hit the goal frame through Ryan Christie but the Dutch took the lead five minutes from the break with a Tijjani Reijnders thunderbolt.

Scotland continued to create and miss chances in the Johan Cruijff ArenA – as did the Netherlands – before Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland hit the bar in the 62nd minute with only Dutch goalkeeper Mark Flekken to beat.

It was a glorious chance for Scotland and they were made to pay 10 minutes later when Georginio Wijnaldum headed in a second and then goals from substitutes Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen in the 84th and 86th minutes turned a good performance on its head as Clarke now looks to get back on track against Northern Ireland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night.

Many of the Tartan Army had clamoured for in-form Hearts striker Shankland to be handed a start and he will know he should have scored to cap off a good performance.

Keeper Angus Gunn was back after injury along with several familiar faces such as captain Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney, with the visitors backed by around 2,400 travelling fans.

Ronald Koeman’s side had a mixture of youth and experience but included top names such as captain Virgil Van Dijk and another former Celtic defender, Jeremie Frimpong, with Memphis Depay leading the line.

But the Scots started with confidence, Shankland’s touches were assured, full-back Nathan Patterson stretched the Dutch down the right-hand side with Robertson working the left flank.

However, there was danger when Cody Gakpo went clean through on the Scotland goal but he failed to finish and was eventually flagged offside.

After midfielder Scott McTominay was booked after just nine minutes for fouling Xavi Simons, Shankland headed a Patterson cross over the bar.

Then, in the 18th minute, midfielder Billy Gilmour raced down the right and his cross was met by the head of Christie but Netherlands keeper Flekken tipped the ball on to the bar and it did not fall kindly for Shankland.

Gakpo’s blatant dive inside the Scotland penalty area did not fool Belgian referee Erik Lambrechts and moment later at the other end McGinn flicked a Christie cross over the bar.

However, the Scots walked into a sucker punch just before the break when AC Milan midfielder Reijnders took a pass from Gakpo and, with little pressure on him, measured his shot from 25 yards and arrowed it high past the helpless Gunn.

McTominay had a shot blocked by Reijnders inside the Netherlands box at the start of the second half but Gunn had to make a great save from Depay’s shot on the turn.

More excitement followed at both ends.

McGinn’s shot was parried by Flekken before Christie headed a cross from the Villa player past a post and then Gunn saved from Gakpo’s 20-yard drive.

When Shankland found himself through against Flekken with the goal beckoning, his shot clipped the bar on the way over and he was soon replaced by Che Adams, with John Souttar and Lewis Ferguson also coming on.

However, the Netherlands doubled their lead with a simple goal, Gakpo’s cross being headed in by Wijnaldum from eight yards out.

McTominay headed a cross from substitute Anthony Ralston over the bar to continue the theme of missed chances before Scotland folded as Weghorst headed in a corner and fellow substitute Malen ran through to grab a fourth – and the damage could have been greater.

Antoine Semenyo scored twice as Bournemouth produced a stunning second-half display to recover from three goals down and beat Luton 4-3.

On an evening that saw Tom Lockyer return to the Vitality Stadium to thank the medical staff who had helped to save his life 88 days earlier, when this fixture was abandoned after the Luton captain suffered a cardiac arrest, the hosts’ rousing response put a huge dent in the Hatters’ survival hopes.

Luton raced into a three-goal lead at half-time before a dramatic second-half showing from Andoni Iraola’s side.

The visitors opened the scoring in the ninth minute after Jordan Clark stood up a sumptuous cross for Tahith Chong to head in at the far post.

Bournemouth sought an immediate response and Ryan Christie and Luis Sinisterra both went close to scoring but saw their efforts blocked by Thomas Kaminski.

Iraola’s side had gone two goals behind against bottom club Sheffield United at the weekend before fighting back to earn a point in stoppage time.

They found themselves in a similar position when Luton scored a brilliant second goal after 31 minutes.

It came after an incisive one-two between Chong and Alfie Doughty, before the latter crossed low to Chiedozie Ogbene, who rounded off a superb team move.

Edwards must surely have thought his team had sealed their third away win of the season when Issa Kabore drove upfield to pick out the excellent Ross Barkley, who powerfully fired the ball high into the net to give the Hatters a considerable cushion going into the break.

But after making two substitutions during the interval, Bournemouth hit back dramatically, scoring three times in 14 minutes at the start of the second half.

The first was a stunning piece of individual brilliance from top scorer Dominic Solanke. The Cherries striker back-heeled the ball between the legs of Daiki Hashioka before chipping it beyond Kaminski.

The second came after Luton were unable to clear Lewis Cook’s corner to safety and Illia Zabarnyi headed in from close range despite Doughty’s desperate attempts to prevent it crossing the line.

Two minutes later the Vitality Stadium erupted when Semenyo cut in from the right and fired his shot powerfully into the near post to level the scores.

Bournemouth were not done there and claimed all three points when Semenyo scored his second seven minutes from time, collecting the ball from Enes Unal before shooting powerfully across Kaminski to give the Cherries their first home win since Boxing Day.

Ryan Christie came off the bench to steer Bournemouth past Swansea and into the third round of the Carabao Cup, just as penalties were looming.

The Scotland international turned the ball into the far corner in the first minute of stoppage time after he was fed by fellow replacement Justin Kluivert to seal a 3-2 victory.

Swansea had made spot-kicks appear likely when another substitute, Jamie Peterson, drove the ball through a crowd of players to make it 2-2 with 11 minutes remaining, but Christie had other ideas.

It was a deserved win for the Cherries, who are still searching for their first Premier league victory of the season.

The Swans had taken a first-half lead through a penalty from Matt Grimes, but fell behind in the second half as they suffered at the hands of Wales international David Brooks.

It was his well-taken strike that levelled things up at 1-1 in the 55th minute before the same player supplied the cross from which Hamed Traore gave the Cherries a 2-1 lead.

Bournemouth reacted to their 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham by making seven changes, including giving a debut to goalkeeper Andrei Radu.

The loan signing from Inter Milan had previously sat on the bench for three Premier League matches this season.

Wales striker Kieffer Moore, a loan target for Cardiff City among others, was handed his first start of the season.

Swansea made five changes from the side that had lost 2-1 away at Preston, a result that left them still searching for a first league victory under new head coach Michael Duff.

But they took a deserved lead in the ninth minute through a penalty from their skipper Grimes.

A Swansea free-kick on the left was only half-cleared before a rising drive from Liam Cullen was blocked by the arm of Bournemouth’s Wales defender Chris Mepham.

Referee Matthew Donohue had no hesitation in awarding the spot-kick from which Grimes scored his first goal of the season.

It took the Cherries a while to muster much of a response, but they should have levelled through Traore just before the half hour.

The Ivorian was given time to place his shot after being teed up by Brooks, but his effort from 10 yards was dragged beyond the far post.

Just before the break, Traore went closer when he struck the outside of the post after he turned sharply near the penalty spot.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola made three changes at half-time – taking off Moore, Lloyd Kelly and Joe Rothwell, who were replaced by Dominic Solanke, Milos Kerkez and Lewis Cook.

The improvement was immediate and after sustained pressure the visitors equalised through Brooks in the 55th minute.

Traore controlled possession in midfield and struck a beautiful volleyed pass wide out to Brooks on the right who had been given too much space by Swansea.

The Cherries captain for the night controlled the ball instantly and then drilled a precise low drive across goalkeeper Carl Rushworth and into the far corner.

Brooks then reached the byline and although Solanke’s header struck the bar, Traore was on hand to force the ball home to make it 2-1.

Paterson was on target for Swansea from a rare attack to level the scores, but the class of the Premier League club eventually told when Christie scored his winner.

Harry Kane made his first appearance for Tottenham this season on Sunday amid speculation about his future.

Kane has been linked with a big-money move to Manchester City, having reportedly told Spurs he wanted to leave late last season.

Spurs have postured that they are steadfast in wanting to keep their star forward, though it has been claimed they may be tempted if City up their bid to around £150million.

TOP STORY - CITY TO MAKE FRESH KANE BID THIS WEEK

The Telegraph claims that Manchester City will make another push to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy remains stubborn.

City want to bring in Kane to bolster their attack but have reportedly been unsuccessful with a £100m bid previously.

The report claims City will make a further bid this week for the England captain ahead of the closure of the transfer window at the end of the month.

ROUND-UP

- Tottenham have reached out to Juventus to discuss a potential deal for United States international Weston McKennie, with Tanguy Ndombele expected to be involved in a player exchange according to Tuttosport.

- Corriere dello Sport claims that Napoli have contacted Barcelona's Miralem Pjanic about a move to Italy. Barca are reportedly hoping to offload several players to ease their financial situation, with midfielder Pjanic among them.

- Sport1 claims that RB Leipzig remain interested in signing Barcelona youngster Ilaix Moriba and may make a move if Marcel Sabitzer leaves the German club.

- Rennes will permit Eduardo Camavinga to leave for €35m as the closure of the transfer window approaches, reports Fabrizio Romano. Chelsea and Manchester United are among his admirers.

- Romano also reports that Chelsea will sell Davide Zappacosta to Atalanta, with personal terms already agreed.

- Burnley will rival Southampton in their interest for Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie, claims the Daily Record. Italian club Sampdoria are also keen on the Scotland international.