Stand-in Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was not happy with his side's performance in their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday.
United were up by two goals late in the second half, after Fernandes scored the second of his brace of goals in the 67th minute.
ABSOLUTE HOWLER from Emi Martínez! 😬 pic.twitter.com/5XPPAvFIkQ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 15, 2022
However, from there, the visitors seemed to sit back and let Aston Villa take over at Villa Park. It was new signing Philippe Coutinho that sealed the draw for Villa just four minutes after Jacob Ramsey got the hosts on the scoreboard.
💬 "COUTINHOOOOOO!!"
Dream debut for Viila's new signing, he's come off the bench and grabbed the equaliser! 💥 pic.twitter.com/Q0yKKAWFbo— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 15, 2022
The result means that Manchester United remain in seventh place on the Premier League table, behind Tottenham Hotspur.
While they did play without Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford against Villa, the latest result does suggest that the rumoured issues at United are there.
🗣 "The performance was better than the result."
Bruno Fernandes felt that Manchester United controlled the game against Aston Villa and that they deserved more pic.twitter.com/q9mtSQSp5e— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 15, 2022
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, the two-goal captain of United suggested that he was not happy with the performance.
"I think the performance was better than the result," Fernandes said. "It was probably more controlled [than we played before].
"We controlled more of the game than before. But the main point for us is winning games, getting points. We did want to [win] today.
"We deserved more, but the game is not about deserving, it is about getting the points. We did not do enough to at the end to take the three points, unluckily for us.
"There is still a lot to improve even if the performance was good. We want performance and results together."
🗣 "I'm not happy at all, everyone is happy to score goals but I prefer to win the game."
Bruno Fernandes says he would rather swap his goals for three points pic.twitter.com/V0PWWyCJla— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 15, 2022
While he pleased that managed to find the back of the net twice, Fernandes mentioned that he would have preferred it if someone else had scored if it would mean that his side got the win.
"I'm not happy at all," Fernandes said. "Everyone is happy to score goals. I am one of them too. I am happy to score, but I would prefer to win the game.
"I'd prefer to take away my two goals and have someone else score and we win the game, than score myself. Anyway, of course I am happy to score.
"I want to score goals. I want to help the team. I think if I score I can help the team, but today, my two goals makes no sense because we got just one point and we want to get the three."
🗣 "I was asking the referee why they were making a fourth sub when Buendía was injured on his shoulder?"
Bruno Fernandes explains why he was complaining to the fourth official at the final whistle pic.twitter.com/Uh9ERqSUrB— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 15, 2022
There was a moment of controversy at the end of the match, however. Emi Buendía was permitted to be subbed off, in spite of the fact that Villa had already made use of their three substitutes.
Fernandes was seen speaking to the referee in the tunnel after the match, and he clarified what that conversation was about.
"At the end of the game I was just asking the referee why they were making the fourth sub when Buendía was injured on his shoulder," Fernandes said.
"He told me that the doctor said there was a problem with his head. When a doctor says it is a head problem, they have to make a change.
"Come on! A player comes off with his shoulder and they want to give another sub? This cannot happen. I understand the referee has to follow the rules, and if the doctor says that, he has to make the sub.
"I was just asking why. That was it."
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