The Nottingham Forest match at Old Trafford was a real eye-opener for Manchester United’s biggest problem on Sunday afternoon — and it can’t be pinned on Michael Carrick either.
Michael Carrick welcomed Manchester United’s performance against Nottingham Forest when he addressed Red Devils supporters after the match at Old Trafford.
However, the 44-year-old United legend was the first to admit that it was a steady display for the Red Devils rather than a mind-blowing spectacle on the day.
Carrick, for his part, nailed his tactics in Man Utd’s encounter with Forest, but the real concern was with the Red Devils’ most frustrating part of their performance.
Michael Carrick and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are set for ‘formal talks’ over the Man Utd job / What is your reaction?
Roy Keane predicted how destructive Bruno Fernandes could be vs Nottingham Forest, but Man Utd stars squandered his impact
Bruno Fernandes should have broken the record for the most Premier League assists in a single season at the weekend — and that equally summed up his side’s display.
The 31-year-old Manchester United captain moved level with the Premier League assist record after Bryan Mbeumo converted in the second half at Old Trafford.
Bryan Mbeumo was one example of where Fernandes was seriously let down, with the out-of-form Man Utd star missing multiple times before he eventually scored.
Fernandes was denied another Premier League assist late in Sunday’s 3-2 win after Diogo Dalot hit the Nottingham Forest post on the back of a United counterattack.
Speaking ahead of the Forest match, Roy Keane spotlighted the most important detail for Fernandes was that the United players around him were making the “right runs.”
“He’s in great form,” he said on Sky Sports.
“In recent months, the team has found him in good positions, and what matters most to Bruno is having teammates who run ahead of him.
“If players make the right runs, Bruno will find you. His decision-making and the precision of his passes are the best in the world.
“Those stats don’t surprise us. He’s reached a new level. Forest will have to neutralise him today, because he’s the key man for Man United.”
HOW impressed are you by Bruno Fernandes equalling Premier League history!
Can he go on to break the record?🤔
Gary Lineker’s assessment of Bruno Fernandes’ performance sums up Man Utd players not capitalising on what Roy Keane expected
Roy Keane was right that United players were making the right runs for Bruno Fernandes’ passes in the Forest match, but the finishing was utterly woeful.
The shooting boots of some United players were left at home and what could have been a masterclass of producing assist after assist from Fernandes was ‘robbed.’
Fernandes was denied the real chance of surpassing Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne in the history books for the most Premier League assists in a single season.
The Portugal midfielder once again showed the players around him falling short of his standards, with Gary Lineker pointing to how many assists Fernandes could have had.
“Bruno, he’s just a joyous footballer to watch,” Gary Lineker said on The Rest Is Football.
“The way he finds space. He could have, I mean, he’s obviously, he equalled that record.
“He’s joined Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne and now [has] 20 assists. You could see he was desperate for it.
“Mbeumo missed that one and he was on the floor. He could have probably had about five assists in that game, to be honest.
“I mean, if they’d taken advantage of it, but what a player.”
Fernandes has one shot to break the assist record against Brighton now — and his Man Utd teammates better step up in a big way after their poor finishing against Forest.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
