Manchester United’s season is well and truly going from bad to worse as they lost to Fulham on penalties in the FA Cup.
After Bruno Fernandes equalized and negated Calvin Bassey’s first goal, Ruben Amorim would have hoped that his United team would win.
However, Manchester United fell 4-3 in the penalty shootout after Fulham scored four of their four spot-kicks and missed penalties from Joshua Zirzkee and Victor Lindelof.
Since his appointment, United has deteriorated as a team, thus all eyes are on Ruben Amorim.
After Erik ten Hag’s turbulent tenure ended, Amorim was supposed to revitalize this new Red Devils team.
However, the former Sporting CP manager and his team are now being criticized for a season that has been terrible by Manchester United’s standards.
Bruno Fernandes told he is “easy to play against” after Manchester United vs Fulham
Given that he gave it his all to pull United out of a bind once more, Fernandes in particular will be unhappy by the outcome of their loss to Fulham. During the shootout, the Manchester United captain not only scored a well-taken equalizer but also put the first penalty past Bernd Leno.
Ian Wright was right when he predicted that Fernandes would flourish under Amorim. Despite playing for a struggling United team this season, the Portuguese international has recorded 11 goals and 12 assists across all competitions.
| BRUNO FERNANDES STATS THIS SEASON | ||
| COMPETITION | GOALS | ASSISTS |
| PREMIER LEAGUE | 6 | 7 |
| EUROPA LEAGUE | 1 | 2 |
| FA CUP | 2 | 1 |
| CARABAO CUP | 2 | 2 |
However, Stephen Warnock has claimed that as brilliant as Fernandes is with the ball at his feet, he is “easy to play against” due to a lack of defensive effort after reviewing Manchester United’s defeat against Fulham.
Warnock said on Sky Sports News: “My big thing with Bruno is, I understand what Roy Keane is saying. All the games that he’s played well in this season that I’ve watched is when they’re down. Well, that’s not brave. Bravery is doing it at 0-0 or when you’re 1-0 down and going to get the ball and closing down and doing it when its the hardest moment in the game where you do have to vacate a position or make a run or do something or go and close someone down.”
“There’s no going away from his numbers, his numbers are incredible. On the ball, the guy is phenomenal, he sees things that other players don’t see on a pitch. But he can also pick out that pass, he can execute that pass, he’s got that quality on the ball when you do need it, he can complete that pass under pressure.”
“But go the other side of things, would I like to play against him going the other way? Would he track your back? Would he be hard to play against? I don’t think he is hard to play against. I think he’s easy to play against. I think the other side of it, I’d worry if he’s on the ball.”
Bruno Fernandes stats during Man United vs Fulham
Given that Fernandes is one of Manchester United’s most senior players and wears the armband, he would not like Stephen Warnock’s comments.
Additionally, the inventive midfielder is frequently seen harrying down opponents and showing off his engine right away on the field.
Fernandes’ diligence versus Fulham is clearly evident from the statistics.
| BRUNO FERNANDES STATS DURING MAN UNITED VS FULHAM | |
| GOALS | 1 |
| CHANCES CREATED | 4 |
| SUCCESSSFUL DRIBBLES | 2/2 |
| DUELS WON | 9/19 |
| DRIBBLED PAST | 4 |
| DEFENSIVE ACTIONS | 8 |
| RECOVERIES | 10 |
The Manchester United talisman may have been dribbled past four times and lost ten duels.However, Fernandes also made eight defensive moves, recovered ten times, and won nine of his duels.
The 30-year-old may not be physically strong enough to prevail in some matches on the field, but his performance against Fulham shows that this was not due to a lack of effort on his part.