Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Surprisingly, Bruno Fernandes was at the heart of Manchester United’s problems in the draw to Fulham.
Manchester United may have rescued a 1-1 draw against Fulham, but the performance was so poor that it felt like a defeat to much of the fanbase.
The harsh reality is that United were outrun by Fulham, and Michael Carrick will rightly face some fierce questions about how he sets up his side out of possession.
United were far too passive and lacked intensity and energy at Craven Cottage. Usually, captain Bruno Fernandes leads from the front, but he actually embodied what turned out to be a lazy performance.
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Bruno Fernandes only made one sprint vs Fulham
According to FotMob, Fulham covered 6.6 kilometres more than United, including more off-the-ball runs and sprints.
Fulham made 96 sprints compared to United’s 92.
Out of those 92, Fernandes only made one sprint. The entire match.
Despite playing the full 90 minutes, Fernandes made one sprint. He totalled just 42 metres of sprint distance against Fulham.
Bruno Fernandes is playing at a slow pace
The statistics also reveal that Fernandes covered 11.1km in total, which was the second-most of any United player. Only Youri Tielemans covered more.
But while Fernandes covered distance in high volume, his lack of sprints shows that he is playing at an alarmingly slow pace.
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The biggest criticism of United against Fulham was that they were too passive and lethargic, and unfortunately, Fernandes was at the heart of the problem.