Bruno Fernandes was a star performer as Manchester United shocked Liverpool by winning 2-1 at Anfield but the captain had a warning for his team-mates
Nathan Ridley Senior Sports Reporter and Neil Docking
07:49, 20 Oct 2025
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Bruno Fernandes had a warning for his Manchester United team-mates(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Bruno Fernandes has cautioned Manchester United's players that failing to build on their 2-1 victory over Liverpool could cast 'another dark cloud' over Old Trafford.
The 31-year-old Portuguese star was a standout performer in the Red Devils' first triumph at Anfield since 2016. Fernandes set up Harry Maguire's winning goal with a volleyed cross. From the get-go, he was instrumental, initiating the move that led to Bryan Mbeumo's opening goal just 63 seconds into the match.
While Fernandes savoured the post-match celebrations on Merseyside, his attention will soon shift to next Saturday's encounter with Brighton, as United aim for a third consecutive Premier League win. "Today is for celebrating and enjoying the moment," the United skipper told DAZN Portugal, as quoted by O Jogo.
"I'll start thinking about it [the next game] tomorrow, because the focus has to quickly shift from today and move on to next week.
"Winning today is very nice, but if we don't win next week, it will be a dark cloud again. It's difficult to maintain a beautiful sky in Manchester."
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United celebrate Harry Maguire scoring their second goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Poppy Townson - MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Bruno Fernandes played a key role for Manchester United in their win at Liverpool(Image: Poppy Townson - MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)
United have not managed back-to-back league victories under Ruben Amorim since he took charge 11 months ago. Amorim hailed the victory as his 'biggest win' as manager, a sentiment echoed by Fernandes, reports the Mirror.
"It was a very important game," the 31 year old explained. "We obviously needed this win to get closer to the top spots. It was very important to win against a team that needed to win, and we also used that impatience to make them make some mistakes.
"We were very effective in the first half and then dropped back a bit in the second half, but we were resilient, we knew how to work, and we got the second goal in the end."
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United's performance in the opening 45 minutes was especially striking, as Fernandes noted: "We were very aggressive, we started playing from there and we knew they push a lot of players forward, but then they leave a lot of space open and we were effective on the counterattacks, with very fast players. We're very happy."
The Portugal captain told Sky Sports: "We knew that we had to win our duels. In the first 10 minutes we knew they would try to start the game very strong.
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"Also in the first half we understood that they were under pressure when they had time on the ball, the fans were putting them in a difficult position and booing for them to play quicker."