Manchester United picked up a 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Saturday, making it five games without defeat.
While victory was in Manchester United’s hands and so a draw won’t be celebrated, the fact that the Red Devils continue to add points is a positive.
The point was saved from the jaws of defeat in the 96th minute thanks to a brilliant Matthijs de Ligt header, which followed Bryan Mbeumo’s opening goal in the first half.
United claimed a 2-2 draw against Spurs, with the performance not warranting much more. United did have some positives against the North London outfit. But there were also some serious negatives.
Bruno Fernandes struggles in midfield for Manchester United
One negative for United and Amorim was the struggling display put in by Bruno Fernandes who was completely off the pace for the Red Devils, with his assist from a corner not enough to escape criticism.
Starting in his usual number six role alongside Casemiro, Fernandes was poor with and without the ball.
The club captain was weak in midfield battles, often pulling out of 50/50 challenges, or opting to kick the ball against the Spurs player instead, which saw the hosts in possession each time.
Usually key, Fernandes was being bypassed by the game and his normal creativity and passing was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe the Portuguese ‘magnifico’ was tired, but his place in the team should not be a six as he doesn’t have the instincts to be on the ball in those deep positions. One instance saw him get the ball in United’s box and instead of clearing it, he took five or six touches before losing it, which led to a chance.
Ruben Amorim is already planting seeds for Bruno Fernandes rotation
Put simply, it has become obvious that United won’t win anything with Fernandes being misused as a defensive midfielder. But more importantly, playing every game is no longer something Fernandes should be doing.
With Kobbie Mainoo increasingly frustrated, the United academy graduate is the clear solution to easing Fernandes’ work load, which in turn should lead to better performances.
The over reliance and over playing of Fernandes is something Amorim is aware of, as he discussed it earlier in the week.
“Just for Bruno to put in his head, maybe next year he’s going to be in rotation in the team. In the future is something that Bruno needs to understand. If you want to win every game, with Europe, is going to have to rotate.”
Amorim needs to prove that Fernandes is not undroppable and when his performances are bad or he is tired, he is given a break.
Places in the starting line-up should be given based on merit not automatic and based on Saturday, Fernandes should be dropped or moved to a position he can directly impact proceedings.
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