Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes’ problem is not accountability, so it wasn’t a surprise when the red-carded Red Devil came out for the post-match interview following a 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Sunday.
“I just wanted to come and talk because my team-mates deserve that for what they have done in the game playing with one man less, particularly as I was the man sent off, the one that let them down,” Fernandes said. “The team showed a lot of character, a lot of resilience, a lot of fight. They tried. It wasn’t easy.”
[ MORE: Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham recap, player ratings ]
It’s a nice message that will fall on deaf ears, particularly because the only thing more predictable than Fernandes taking responsibility for his mistake — a high challenge on James Maddison late in the first half — is the maddening malaise on display from Man United prior to the sending-off.
Fernandes didn’t believe he should’ve been sent off, and claimed that Maddison thought it wasn’t a red card foul. And perhaps there’s something to be said for his argument, but that would be missing the forest for the trees.
Manchester United can fire Erik ten Hag, but it could change very little
Micky van de Ven turned United over in the Spurs half and dribbled 70 yards up field, almost unencumbered, before sliding the ball throw a wide-open six for a Brennan Johnson tap-in.
That was moments after the opening kickoff, presumably after United spent significant time addressing that sort of moment after giving up a similar goal at midweek.
“To concede a goal like this, [Van de Ven] stepping in and passing the whole team over the right side and then the winger tapping in at the far post — same mistake as in the midweek against Twente, it should be stopped in the first moment,” Ten Hag said.
It wasn’t exactly the same as Sam Lammers’ goal in the Europa League, where Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, and Diogo Dalot did very little to stop the Dutch side. This time it was Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, and Matthijs de Ligt who couldn’t stop the marauding player, with Dalot leaving Johnson alone at the back post.
It’s easy to forget in the cauldron that is a Manchester United season, but Erik Ten Hag has had success as a manager. And while he’s not faultless — cough, Jadon Sancho, cough — his players are failing him. Here’s why firing him may not fix that — There are a number of significant players who need to be involved in a turn-around that came to Old Trafford because of Ten Hag.
Ex-Ajax players Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Andre Onana are all huge parts of this club, as is soon-to-be all-time transfer bust Antony. Christian Eriksen also has Ajax in his blood, while Joshua Zirkzee and long-injured Tyrell Malacia are exports of a Feyenoord system run by like-minded Arne Slot and Giovanni van Bronckhorst in recent years.
In other words, if Man United thought it may have remove Ten Hag anytime before Christmas, they should’ve done it in the summer and sent him off with his FA Cup high-note ending (when, instead, he was given a new contract).
Read what Ten Hag said about the moments after Johnson’s goal. He’s seeing what’s wrong and the players either aren’t hearing him or don’t care. This isn’t defending Ten Hag — it’s his system and he’s in charge of making these players respect him and work in it — but it may not get better unless fans want a return to the packed-in, counter-attacking Moyesian football we saw much of last season.
“From that moment on we were stressed on the ball,” Ten Hag said. “We could not find the triangles or the switches, we had some good moments, but from that moment we could not get a foothold. And we can do better than that. Even after such a mistake from us we should stay calm.”
There could be a new manager bump if Ten Hag is sacked, depending on who takes the gig, but it’s more likely that no one is more capable of making meaningful fixes here until at least January when the transfer window would allow for exits and arrivals.
In short, it might be better to hope in Ugarte bedding into the team — he looked fantastic against Twente — and Rasmus Hojlund staying healthy as the impetus for a turnaround.
Manchester United may have a Bruno Fernandes problem — and it has nothing to do with his red card
Bruno Fernandes is Manchester United’s captain and best player. He has incredible vision, is capable of the sublime, and cares deeply about the club.
The 30-year-old is contracted to the club through the 2026-27 season. He’s a heck of an attacking midfielder, but Ten Hag has struggled mightily to put Fernandes in a system that allows the Portuguese to be his playmaking best.
United is not the only Premier League team to have a defensively-challenged creator in the center of the park, and there are different ways to make that players contribute to success. Kevin De Bruyne is given license to roam at Manchester City, where the rest of the midfield and defense is aligned to allow for De Bruyne’s gaps. James Maddison at Spurs is part of a system that is simply designed to out-gun the opposition.
Ten Hag has an idea of what will work best with Fernandes, and the Manuel Ugarte buy is surely meant to work with Kobbie Mainoo or Casemiro to lock down the midfield behind Fernandes and in front of Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez.
Maybe that will be better in time, but Game #1 saw Fernandes spend most of the first half hanging out next to Joshua Zirkzee as if they were a strike pairing waiting for their team to reclaim possession. And with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho the wide forwards, that made four players whose strengths are decidedly not thwarting attacks. On Sunday, the same could be set for poor Lisandro Martinez and Dalot.
It will be very intriguing to see if United are more difficult to beat while Fernandes serves his suspension for a straight red card. It will be more intriguing to see United’s table status once he returns following PL meetings with Aston Villa and Brentford.
