Old Trafford played host to one of the craziest matches of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign on Monday night as Manchester United drew 4-4 with Bournemouth in dramatic fashion. Bruno Fernandes, the trusted captain of Ruben Amorim's side, was at the heart of the home side's brilliance – and what the Portuguese talisman, 31, did before James Tavernier's goal went in has gone viral.
Amad opened the scoring inside 13 minutes before Antoine Semenyo, who was arguably lucky to not receive a red card, pegged them back in the 40th minute. Casmeiro's header on the stroke of half-time regained the home outfit's one-goal lead. The Cherries flew out of the blocks in the second half by scoring in the 46th and 52nd minute, respectively.
With the score poised at 3-2 and their Old Trafford record of winning at half-time and not losing a match since 1984 under threat, Fernandes and Matheus Cunha scored within the space of two minutes and, to top off the eight-goal thriller, Eli Junior Kroupi equalised six minutes shy of the 90-minute mark. The eight goals aside, Fernandes' actions before Tavernier's goal have caught the attention of many.
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Fernandes' Actions Pre-Tavernier Goal Go Viral
fernandes manchester united
After north of 90 minutes of a frenzy of goals under the Old Trafford lights, both sides would've walked away unhappy with a share of the spoils – and that is especially the case for Amorim's United, who missed a flurry of chances in the early embers of the first half. Fernandes was at the heart of the disdain with journalist Steven Railston spotting him after the full-time whistle.
Widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in world football, the former Sporting CP talisman – who has the second-most goals and assists (12) in England's top flight this term – was seen berating his teammates after they dropped points once again.
The attacking midfielder's instructions pre-Tavernier free-kick have also gone viral, with one fan stating: "This is so so so poor."
That comment, though, was directed at summer recruit Senne Lammens. As seen in the footage below, Fernandes was part of the seven-man wall that was positioned to prevent the Englishman's dead-ball effort troubling the Belgian shot stopper, who was signed by Royal Antwerp for a lowly fee of around £18.2 million plus add-ons in the summer of 2025.
The ball was curled through the gap which was left between himself and Cunha, and into the vacant right-hand side of Lammens' goal – an area which Fernandes told him to cover. With the Bournemouth man standing over the ball, the 85-cap Portugal international turned around and ushered Lammens to move over to the right as that's where Tavernier was going to shoot.
Bruno Fernandes' 25/26 Premier League Stats vs Man Utd Squad
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Lammens took a swift look to his right-hand side but remained rather centrally, bouncing on his toes and ready to dive either side to thwart the effort. It was to no avail, though, as the youngster's outstretched arm was not enough to prevent Tavernier from scoring Bournemouth's third of the affair. The above clip shows that Fernandes was about to throw his hands aloft in disbelief.
Amorim and Man Utd Need To Focus on Strengthening Their Defensive Ranks
ruben amorim manchester united
United – in an attempt to bolster their attacking ranks – spent north of £200 million on the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo and their goalscoring issues from 2024/25 have been flipped on their head. Only Manchester City (38) have scored more than their 30 league goals this season but, elsewhere, they are conceding goals at an alarming rate.
Currently 16 games into the current campaign, United have conceded 26 goals (the same as City and Arsenal combined) and are currently missing Matthijs de Ligt dearly. The Dutchman became a mainstay at the heart of Amorim's three-man defence before being sidelined with a knock, thus missing the last three matches against West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth.
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United's last clean sheet was over two months ago (their 2-0 win over Sunderland on 4 October), and their attacking options certainly weren't to blame for their shortcomings against Bournemouth. The January transfer window presents an opportunity to strengthen their options in defence but, luckily, it's only Noussair Mazraoui from a defensive standpoint who they'll be missing throughout AFCON.
All statistics per WhoScored – correct as of 16/12/2025