‘Look at the 7-0 game’ – Pundit suggests Fernandes to benefit from absence in Liverpool v Man Utd

Ian Wright has stated he would “never accuse a professional” of missing a game deliberately, but he suggested Bruno Fernandes may benefit from not facing Liverpool after he received the “most criticism” in their last meeting.

Things could go from bad to worse for the Red Devils this week. They were dumped out of the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night, finishing rock bottom of their group.

Next up, they face a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool. The Reds are flying high – they top the Premier League table, and have lost just once all season in the league.

History in the fixture is on their side – the last time United and Liverpool met, the Reds thumped their rivals 7-0, with their forwards tucking into the buffet of goals on offer.

That Liverpool are up next for United has opened up a discourse about the Red Devils’ captain Fernandes potentially deliberately getting suspended for the game so he didn’t have to face them.

Indeed, he received his fifth booking for the season last time out and will therefore miss the game.

Former Premier League striker Wright refused to jump on the Portuguese’s back, but did suggest he could benefit from missing the game given the reaction to his performance in the 7-0 thumping last season.

“You can see this every game with Bruno Fernandes. What you can see is a very good player who is so frustrated,” Wright told Premier League Productions.

“I can’t [criticise] someone for dissent because it was my whole game – I had leaders around me, but he is the leader. He is somebody who is looking around for help.

“You can look at his actions and point the finger like ‘maybe he doesn’t want to play in the Liverpool game’. I would never accuse a professional of that. But you can look back at the 7-0 game and he was the one who came up with the most criticism.”

Indeed, Fernandes was slammed for looking visibly frustrated during the loss, particularly when a substitution was made and it wasn’t him that was being taken off.

That said, as the captain of a club like Manchester United, he should be looking to the positives in a game against a rival, not benefitting from not getting slaughtered, as it could be a heavy defeat given the sides’ respective recent form.

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