Bruno Fernandes has left Chris Sutton questioning the harmony in Manchester United’s dressing room as of late.
The Red Devils booked their spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday after overseeing a hard-fought 4-2 win over League Two outfit Newport County. They’ll face either Bristol City or Nottingham Forest away from home next time out.
Fernandes was the first of one of United’s four goalscorers, along with Kobbie Mainoo, who netted his maiden senior goal, Antony and Rasmus Hojlund, though the club captain lamented his side’s inability to kill the game off after the full-time whistle.
Erik ten Hag’s men were overpoweringly dominant in the first half-hour before – in true United fashion – the tide turned and Newport were able to snatch two goals back either side of half-time. The attackers’ late contributions spared the team’s blushes after just being able to see off the fourth-tier opposition.
Fernandes’ post-match concerns
Supporters believe that Fernandes fired a thinly veiled warning to his teammates over their selfishness in the game; Alejandro Garnacho squandered a significant chance early on when opting to shoot from distance over dispatching a cross into the area. His effort rattled the crossbar and Hojlund was spotted expressing his dismay at the Argentine’s decision-making.
“We have to kill the game,” the club captain told BBC Sport. “In the first half, we had chances to make it 3-0, but because when you get 2-0 in these kinds of games, everyone wants to try to score and get their goal, sometimes we don’t make the best decision for the team. After we did a great job to close the game.”
Reacting on 5 Live Sport’s ‘The Monday Night Club’, Sutton said: “Did you see Bruno Fernandes’s comments at the weekend? When he talked after the game and said we had chances to make it 3-0 but everyone wanted to score and get their goals and sometimes we don’t get the best decision for the team,” Sutton told The Monday Night Club.
“Does that not tell you a lot about the Man United dressing room, the captain coming out and basically saying there are selfish players in the team? Why do that? Why not keep that in-house?”
