Pundit blames 'petulant, spoilt' Manchester United star for Antony's antics in 3-0 loss to Manchester City

In the aftermath of Sunday's 3-0 loss to Manchester City, pundit Chris Sutton has taken aim at Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes. The pundit believes that Fernandes' lack of leadership directly influenced Antony's rash actions during the match.

The Brazilian winger was shown a yellow card for a wild kick aimed at City's Jeremy Doku. This followed his visibly frustrated demeanor on the sidelines due to his late introduction into the game, in the 86th minute, as he failed to control his emotions.

According to Sutton, Fernandes, who overtook the captaincy from Harry Maguire during the off-season, is unfit for the role. He claimed that Antony's reckless behavior stems from Fernandes' failure to assert authority within the team. Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 (via Manchester Evening News):

"When you stand in a tunnel you are looking for your captain to have a presence, a stature, leadership. When the going gets tough they are the ones who step up and drag the team through."

“You think of great United captains of the past, [Roy] Keane being one of them. Steve Bruce, who I had so much admiration for. Bryan Robson – brilliant captain. Gary Neville – a bit of clout. [Nemanja] Vidic, the same. And then you get this petulant, spoilt kid in Bruno. In my opinion, he was never designed to be a Manchester United captain – he doesn’t have the right characteristics.”

Sutton went on to explain that Fernandes' inadequacies as a captain create a permissive atmosphere, leading to unregulated behavior from players like Antony:

“That is why the likes of Antony are lawless, they do what they like. It’s then that the captain has to get a grip, but players feel that they can act like they want on the pitch. Marcus Rashford feels that he doesn’t have to track back. Are you telling me that if Roy Keane was captain of Manchester United [on Sunday] he would have let that happen?”

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Roy Keane accuses Guardiola of theatrics in post-match chat with Haaland after Manchester City's 3-0 win over Manchester United

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has criticized Pep Guardiola for what he perceived as a needless and ostentatious on-field discussion with striker Erling Haaland. This followed City's emphatic 3-0 victory over the Red Devils at Old Trafford.

Haaland was the star of the show, slotting home a penalty in the 26th minute and scoring a header in the 49th before setting up Phil Foden for the final nail in United's coffin. Keane's point of contention was Guardiola's post-match chat with Haaland, centered around the nuances of the Norwegian's heading technique.

Keane said on Sky Sports (via GOAL):

"It’s all for show. It’s all for show. You can have that chat in the dressing room. What’s the big deal? It was a lovely header but you don’t need to be on the pitch talking about it for five minutes. Just get down the tunnel and enjoy your victory."

Manchester City are now level on points with Arsenal and just two shy of front-runners Tottenham Hotspur.