Manchester United vs Manchester City in pictures
Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes has come under fire from Micah Richards for “playing for himself” when go the Red Devils behind. The Portuguese star was heavily criticised for his poor performance during the Manchester derby on Sunday as Manchester City triumphed over their local rivals 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Two goals from Erling Haaland and a third from Phil Foden kept City within two points of league leaders Tottenham following what will go down as one of the most one-sided Manchester derbies since it was first contested back in 1881.
United are a shadow of the team that impressed so much when Erik ten Hag took over last season. The Red Devils find themselves in eighth place in the Premier League with Champions League football already slipping away from their grasp on matchday 10.
Ten Hag’s men look completely deflated and appear to lack any type of belief. In such adverse times, the players need an influential figure to turn to. Often it is the captain’s job to pick up his team during difficult patches but according to Richards, Fernandes is only thinking about himself.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, he said: “Have you noticed what Fernandes does though? When Man United go behind, and he is not having a good game, what he does is he starts running around trying to get the crowd on side.
“He is running out of position trying to get everyone to believe that he is working really hard for the team, but really he is just playing for himself. It was staggering to see.
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“Then, every decision that goes against United, his arms are up in the air. As a captain, I don’t know if the pressure is too much, but it is not quite working out.” Richards is not the only one who has been critical of Fernandes since being handed the armband in the summer.
United legend Roy Keane believes Fernandes should be stripped of his captaincy due to his “constant whinging and moaning”. “The first thing I would do is take the captaincy off him. I know it’s a big decision but Fernandes is not captain material,” he said.
“He’s a talented player, but what I saw today, he’s whingeing, he’s moaning, he’s throwing his arms up in the air constantly. It really isn’t acceptable. When you’re talking about where do they make changes – board level, managers – I’d start with that because the manager is capable of doing that. Fernandes is a brilliant footballer but he’s the opposite to what you want in a captain.”
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