After Manchester United lost 3-0 to Manchester City, Bruno Fernandes had his say on Pep Guardiola’s side.
Fernandes has lauded Guardiola in the past as the greatest manager in the history of the game, which shows how much he respects the former Bayern Munich boss.
Unfortunately for the Portuguese international, his United side were well and truly second best against a Manchester City side who were coming into the game off the back of two successive defeats.
However, Manchester United look far worse than their city rivals, as they languish in 14th place in the Premier League table.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the contest, Bruno Fernandes put rivalries aside and praised City.
Bruno Fernandes praises Man City after Man United suffer defeat
Fernandes acknowledged how Manchester City exploited Manchester United’s midfield being the “top team” they are, saying: “If you look at City, they had Rodri, Tijji [Tijjani Reijnders], Bernardo [Silva] coming in, then they had [Phil] Foden, they made basically a midfield four against a two. So, you need the ones in behind you to jump. Like Luke [Shaw] was doing very well on Tijji, like we did it in the first game against Arsenal. That’s why they didn’t play. They couldn’t find the spaces to play.”
“And that’s what makes the spaces very narrow for the teams to play against a team that is very aggressive when you go on the front foot. And if you’re not brave enough to do that, it’s very difficult and they find the spaces and the gaps because we’re playing against a top team, we’re not playing against a bad opponent.”
Fernandes struggled against Manchester City himself and he felt Manchester United’s pressing was not up to par as they were comfortably beaten by the hosts on Sunday: “And obviously, when you play against teams with this quality, they will find the small gaps and they will play the balls.”
“City were smart to get the goals in the way that they did, they’re a very good team, very good players and obviously, compliments to them.”
Bruno Fernandes stats in the Manchester Derby
Kevin De Bruyne heaped praise on Fernandes and while he is a top-class player, the 30-year-old admitted that Manchester City tormented Manchester United’s midfield.
City outnumbered United in the middle of the park, as the former Udinese match-winner and Manuel Ugarte were in sixes and sevens.
Fernandes’ stats further emphasise that he had a tough outing at the Etihad Stadium.
| BRUNO FERNANDES’ STATS VS MANCHESTER CITY | |
| ACCURATE PASSES | 59/70 (84%) |
| BLOCKS | 0 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | 0 |
| DRIBBLED PAST | 1 |
| POSSESSION LOST | 21 |
The United skipper lost possession a staggering 21 times, was dribbled past once, made no blocks and interceptions while completing 84% of his passes.
However, as the FA Cup winner suggested, Manchester City tactically outclassed Manchester United by often deploying four midfielders to dominate the visitors’ double pivot.
Fernandes was full of praise for City and his kind words suggest that he had no choice but to admit that Amorim and Co were humbled upon their visit to the blue side of Manchester.
