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Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has praised Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes for his display against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday (15 January).
The Red Devils drew 2-2 against the Lilywhites at Old Trafford on Sunday. Rasmus Hojlund opened the scoring within the first three minutes before Richarlison equalized for Spurs in the 19th minute of the first half.
Marcus Rashford found the back of the net and put Manchester United 2-1 up just before the break. Rodrigo Bentancur then scored the equalizer shortly after half-time.
Fernandes was rather quiet going forward, registering two shots and creating one chance in the encounter. However, the Portugal international was quite productive defensively, winning 100% of his tackles, registering nine defensive actions, and making four recoveries (via FotMob).
Richards lauded the midfielder for his mentality and tenacity against Tottenham. The pundit said on The Rest is Football podcast (as quoted by The Boot Room):
“You know who I thought was really good today but not really on the ball but off the ball, Fernandes. I thought his attitude was brilliant. There were certain times where Spurs were on the counter attack and he was running back and leading by example and I just thought his all round attitude today was excellent."
He added:
“I know he is always very creative, one of the best creators in the league, but sometimes he gets a bit emotional so the quality in his game you don’t really talk about. But it was his work rate which shone for me."
Fernandes has scored six goals and provided five assists in 28 appearances across all competitions for Manchester United this season.
"I think the coach will be vulnerable" - Gary Neville says Manchester United have been a 'hard watch' under Ten Hag this season
Manchester United legend Gary Neville believes Ten Hag's future at Old Trafford is in jeopardy amid the club's turbulent form this season.
The Manchester-based outfit recently underwent a minor change in ownership as INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 25% stake in December, 2023. Neville believes the new owners will have higher expectations of United this season.
He said (via Football365):
“We need to see a style of play develop in the next few months or else I think the coach will be vulnerable because ultimately the new owner will come in and want to see how we’re going to play, want electricity, want razzmatazz."
Manchester United are seventh in the Premier League table, eight points adrift of the top four, but that could change as eighth-placed Brighton and sixth-placed West Ham have a game in hand each.
The Red Devils have also been knocked out of Europe after finishing at the bottom of their pool in their UEFA Champions League group against teams like Copenhagen, Galatasaray and Bayern Munich.
