Manchester United’s situation took a turn for the worse in a short span of three days, as they suffered a disappointing defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday. United were embarrassed by their lackluster effort in a 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth, which left the Manchester club utterly perplexed.
Manchester United will be facing league leaders Liverpool in their next Premier League match. However, they will be missing their captain Bruno Fernandes, who is suspended due to accumulating the yellow card limit against Bournemouth. However, there is a belief among many that Fernandes may have intentionally received a booking in order to avoid the upcoming match against the Merseyside Reds.
Richard Keys suggests Fernandes intentionally booked to dodge Liverpool
Bruno Fernandes has undoubtedly been Manchester United’s best player in the recent past, with the Portuguese talisman winning multiple Player of the Year awards and earning the captain’s armband during that time. However, people have started questioning his leadership skills while the club is in a difficult position to be in.
Bruno Fernandes will miss Man United's visit to Anfield next week due to yellow card accumulation 😬
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 9, 2023
𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗲. pic.twitter.com/SEZwT4rOJx
Fernandes picked up an unnecessary yellow card in the dying minutes of the game against Bournemouth, that too for dissent towards the referee, which is very unexpected coming from the captain in a game that is already lost. That means he won’t play in next week’s match against Liverpool.
Fans and pundits have started wondering if this was intentional to avoid the upcoming game, as the Red Devils face the in-form Reds next weekend.
"He knows he's missing the game and that sums him up. He's not a leader, not a captain."@Richardajkeys thinks Bruno Fernandes knew full well of the ramifications of his booking today against Bournemouth meant he misses Anfield.#beINPL #MUFC #LFC pic.twitter.com/dkKG3clvOT
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) December 9, 2023
However, the next test for Bruno comes in the midweek, when United face Bayern in a do-or-die tie to qualify for the knockouts, regarding which Bruno has remained optimistic that United will get over the line in the end.
Fan footage captures Erik ten Hag’s shock after United’s loss
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United has been a very difficult team to analyze for people. A slow start, followed by a decent run, terrible performances after that, and then getting unwanted records broken. It seems there is a long way before United are back to being the club that they once were.
Ten Hag at FT. Wonder what’s going through his mind… pic.twitter.com/iL4RID7tEe
— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) December 9, 2023
Erik ten Hag was left shocked and devastated after seeing his team get taken out for a run by the Cherries. It is understandable that it’s very hard to let this result sink in, as can be seen in ten Hag’s reaction after the full time whistle. The United boss, after the match, said that he is “annoyed and disappointed” by the result.
Erik ten Hag will surely be feeling the pressure after that result, as Manchester United might replace him in the near future, with few alternatives already lined up.
Do you think it is time for Erik ten Hag to go? Let us know who Manchester United should appoint if ten Hag gets sacked. Comment your take.
