England legend Wayne Rooney has slammed Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United‘s win over AS Roma. He questioned the midfielder’s refusal to run back to help the defence, saying it was a key reason for the first goal of the game.
Speaking on Amazon Prime Sport, Rooney said that there was no reaction from the Manchester United players at the start of the game despite being winless in nine matches. The Red Devils legend was fuming with the players and said:
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“You’re in the Champions League and with all the talk and criticism the team have got, you were expecting some sort of reaction. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. Roma took the ball and were more aggressive, no one on the United team put a tackle in. They were really struggling down the left-hand side. You just want to see something, some sort of fight and passion and desire to win the football game but there was nothing.” (via Metro)
Rooney pointed at Fernandes’ position for the first goal, saying that the club captain had to run back to defend when the left-back had charged forward to attack. He said:
“For the first goal, if you’re playing in a system, when Dalot goes higher, Bruno should go into that position. He has to run back, you’re the captain of the football club, run back and take responsibility. You’re a team and you need to play as a team. If a teammate is out of position, even if you don’t want to be there or run back, you have to run back.”
“I feel so sorry for the fans because they don’t know what to do. They’ve not been in this position for years, they don’t know whether to get behind the team or to get on their backs. I feel so sorry for them. The team have just run out of ideas. There’s no confidence or belief, the team is shot to bits.”
Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty in the game, as Manchester United completed a dramatic comeback to win 3-2 after being 2-0 down.
What next for Manchester United?
Manchester United were reportedly close to sacking Michael Carrick last month, before giving him more games. The manager is still under pressure, and has Aston Villa visiting Old Trafford this weekend.
The Red Devils are sitting just above the relegation zone after nine matches, and know that the upcoming match is a must-win game.
Edited by Sripad
