Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes did not hold back with his assessment of his side’s performance following the Red Devils’ 2-2 draw against Everton in Atlanta on Sunday (August 3).
Fernandes, 30, was unhappy with his side’s showing in the Premier League Summer Series and seemed to let out his frustration during an altercation with Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye after the Portuguese clipped at the attacker’s heels as he tried to dribble away from him just moments before the Toffees’ equaliser.
Fernandes had earlier opened the scoring with a cool penalty on 19 minutes before Ndiaye equalised on 40 minutes with a smart volley.
But United regained the lead thanks to a Mason Mount strike with just over 20 minutes left before Ayden Heaven scored an own goal to make it 2-2.
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After the match, United skipper Fernandes called out his own teammates for what he felt was a “lazy” performance.
“It’s been important for developing how we want to play and getting the new players involved too,” Fernandes told NBC Sports. “We didn’t want to finish in this way. Our performance wasn’t the best, and we were a little bit lazy today. We want to avoid that because with laziness, you can pay at any moment.”
The 30-year-old then admitted that the club may still be active in this summer’s transfer window.
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“It’s improving,” Fernandes added.
“But it’s not the place it needs to be. I don’t want to take a dig at anyone, but the club is doing the best they can in terms of the financial situation they talk about.
“But it was crystal clear we needed more competition for the players that were here, more quality to get everyone to step up a little more to get to the XI, and I think that is what the club are trying to do. Hopefully, we can get one or two players more to help with that.”
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United have already signed three players – Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Diego Leon – this summer and have registered interest in RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko.
Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim was asked about Fernandes’ comment following his side’s draw.
“I think I’m happy for the players to have that feeling,” said Amorim. “It’s saying that they understand the situation. So, it’s a good feeling.
“I think the momentum of the tour was perfect. We had the weeks to work with a good environment, good feeling, and then we go back to Carrington, and we are near to start the season. We are going with the feeling that we need to do a lot of things [better].”
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United return to action in a pre-season friendly against Fiorentina on August 9 before their Premier League opener at home against Arsenal on August 17.
Topics: Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes, Football, Ruben Amorim, Transfer News, Mason Mount, Everton, Transfers
Luke Davies