AFP, MANCHESTER: Manchester United players will have to motivate themselves at home to Bournemouth on Wednesday after manager Jose Mourinho suggested their Premier League title challenge was probably over.

The 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester City on Sunday leaves United second in the table but a daunting 11 points behind their city rivals.

However, United's Spanish forward Juan Mata issued a stirring rallying call in the wake of the defeat. United's fixture list is indeed a hectic one -- Wednesday's match is the fourth of nine games they face during December.