Manchester United completed a wild comeback against AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League yesterday.
The Red Devils looked set for another difficult evening after Roma raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 20 minutes.
With their backs against the wall, United desperately needed a response, and Bruno Fernandes delivered by converting a penalty to halve the deficit and reignite the Old Trafford crowd.
Matheus Cunha then stole the spotlight, scoring twice in the final seven minutes to complete a sensational turnaround.
Fernandes spoke after the game for the first time since his comments following the 4-1 defeat to Como, during which he blamed head coach Michael Carrick for his tactics.
The 32-year-old acknowledged that Carrick was right to leave him out of the starting XI against Bournemouth, accepting that his performances had not been good enough.
He said (via Amazon Prime Video Sport): “We’ve been working so hard to get out of this situation altogether. It’s been tough, there’s been a lot of speculation in the media, a lot of lies around many things that have happened in this club. Between me and the manager, that we had cleared the air, then after, nothing of that happened.
“The manager took a decision of putting myself be on the bench because I wasn’t performing at that level. Everyone felt that that was a punishment for the words that I had said. If it was, it was right.
“The manager is the one that makes the decisions. I have to accept them, I have to go forward with that. It doesn’t change the belief I have in the manager, in the staff and every player that is in this club.”
Acknowledgment from Fernandes shows the line has been drawn
The Portuguese midfielder is undoubtedly the best United player in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
He has won the prestigious Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award a record five times.
For the past six years, he has shouldered an enormous responsibility at Old Trafford and deserves enormous credit for his commitment and consistency.
However, publicly directing criticism at Carrick was a significant mistake that could have been avoided.
Fernandes is entitled to voice his concerns when the team is struggling, but such conversations should take place privately between the captain and his manager.
Publicly undermining the head coach was the wrong approach, and Carrick was justified in dropping his captain after those comments.
Both men clearly care deeply about United, and putting their differences aside is essential if they are to turn around the 2026-27 campaign.
Stats from Fotmob.com