“Bruno was brilliant today. He led the team from the first minute’: Erik ten Hag praises Fernandes’ man of the game display in 4-1 win over Real Betis as he recovers from Anfield disgrace
Bruno Fernandes roared back at his critics at Old Trafford on Thursday night as he helped put Manchester United within sight of the Europa League quarter-finals.
Fernandes scored and provided an assist in the 4-1 Real Betis win but manager Erik ten Hag warned his under-fire captain to control his emotions after thankfully avoiding a red card.
Fernandes, who was heavily criticized for his stubborn behavior in Sunday’s 7-0 loss at Liverpool, was cautioned over a late struggle with goalkeeper Claudio Bravo that could have resulted in a harsher punishment from German referee Daniel Siebert.
Erik ten Hag was happy after Man United recovered from their annihilation at Anfield
Man United returned to winning ways with a 4-1 win over Real Betis in the Europa League
Fernandes capped off an impressive performance with the crucial third goal on Thursday night
“It’s his strength and his passion, but you’re right, sometimes he needs to control that,” Ten Hag said.
“He has to bring it, it’s his strength and when it becomes too much it becomes a weakness, that’s true. He knows that and there are always small margins.” Four days after United’s humiliation at Anfield, Fernandes was once again at the center of the action and Ten Hag felt he had the perfect answer.
“Bruno was brilliant today,” said Ten Hag. “He led the team from the first minute, he got an assist and scored a goal, so I’m happy.
“I think he was the best player on the pitch,” said Ten Hag.
“It showed his personality. He played a little deeper role tonight and I think he was brilliant, he made a lot of good passes between the lines and we created a lot of chances from there.
Marcus Rashford, Antony and Wout Weghorst scored the other goals as United extended a commanding lead for next week’s second leg in Sevilla.
Ten Hag admitted he was “curious” about how United fans would react after Sunday’s debacle and was pleased they had their backing as they got back on track.
“I was pleased with the response from the crowd,” he added. ‘
They were behind the team from the first minute. The team gave energy through performance and they gave it back. There’s a great bond between the team and the fans and we’re happy about that.
“We played very well in both halves. It was a good attitude from the start. We should have been 3-0 up at half-time, but one mistake and we were penalised. We scored some good goals in the second half and I’m very grateful after Sunday.
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