Despite a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth, Manchester United were awful, but Owen Hargreaves says one player deserves praise.
For Erik ten Hag, this performance is just the latest in an underwhelming campaign which looks more and more likely to be his last
Manchester United have been poor all season, and things are only getting worse are we get deeper into it, which won’t be giving Ineos much confidence.
Against Bournemouth, during the 2-2 draw, this was no different and the Cherries probably should’ve put United to the sword in the game.
Things could’ve been far worse against Bournemouth, now Owen Hargreaves has explained which player changed the game for United.
Owen Hargreaves explains how Bruno Fernandes changed the game vs Bournemouth
Former United player, Hargreaves, was on punditry for Premier League Productions during Saturday’s draw with Bournemouth.
Following the game he admitted United were lucky to secure all three points in the game.
“Man Utd were fortunate to get a point, they were not great. It has been a really frustrating season for them, but credit to Bournemouth for their part in this match.”
Continuing, Hargreaves then praised the man signed for £47m, Bruno Fernandes for changing the game, despite how much people complain about him.
“If it wasn’t for Bruno Fernandes, Man Utd would have lost. Bournemouth dominated until Fernandes smashed their first shot on target into the roof of the net.
“People might complain about Bruno, but where would they be without him?”
Fernandes does get far too much flak considering he’s easily been the best player at the club for four years.
How did Bruno Fernandes play against Bournemouth?
Against Bournemouth, Fernandes was the only player in white who looked like they cared about whether United won or lost.
Fernandes’ passion is often criticised but Hargreaves is spot on, without him, we dread to even think about where United would be in the league.
Outside of his passion too, he performed well, considering how bad those around him were.
Here’s his stats from the game.
From these, we can see Bruno was relentless in his defensive play, with United constantly split open.
But he shouldn’t have to be doing this much defensive work, which is another fault with Ten Hag’s system.