Manchester United were ‘lucky’ and Bruno Fernandes is an ‘absolute melt’

Liverpool fans are lining up to say that Manchester United weren’t that good anyway and Bruno Fernandes gets a kicking.

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Manchester United are only decent
As a Liverpool fan am obviously rather giddy this morning but can’t really bring myself to really stick the knife in on the Utd fans as my team have already done that.

Let’s be honest, ETH looks like an excellent manager who has cleared the decks of the rot (read: Ronaldo/Pogba) and has put together a decent team. But that’s what they are, decent not great – yes they’d gone on an unbeaten run in the league but really hadn’t played anyone of any note and won the Carabao Cup without coming across a team that could stretch them.

Meanwhile Liverpool had lost the vast majority of their strikeforce for most of the season and had to play their new signings without the time to integrate them into the team (and the way of playing) combined with losing our first-choice centre-halves but have somehow managed to stay in touching distance of the top four.

Nunez scores more goals per minute than Rashford yet the former is a flop and the latter is world class having the season of his life..?!?

Anyway, onto yesterday’s game – we were always going to batter someone soon once the squad was back and the stars aligned in the most magnificent way that it was against our most prestigious rivals. We did get quite a few lucky breaks with the ball but that generally happens when you’re trying harder than the other team for most of the game.

Fernandes is a disgrace and should never be captain again.
Jim Fleckney

(Not quite sure where that Nunez/Rashford stat has come from; it’s bollocks. Whether Premier League or all comps, it’s nonsense – Ed)

…A few thoughts following the game yesterday as a LFC fan.

It was a freak result. It doesn’t solve any of Liverpool’s issues in midfield, we were fortunate that United collectively lost their heads in a way that we’ve never seen before (or will again).Yes, it could have been 9 or 10, but equally if Rashford scored when through on goal at 0.0, we may have lost our heads too.

My potential ‘hot take’ is this though, ETH could be the manager that both teams supporters want, Utd want silverware (obviously, who doesn’t) and I am happy for Utd to win them all apart from the CL/PL.

I didn’t expect them to have a series of OGS or Ralfs for the rest of my life, they have the spending power to shoot them to the heights of LFC and Man City in recent years.

ETH could be their Gérard Houlier and not their Jurgen Klopp as they thought. Gérard was great wasn’t he? As great as Rafa or Klopp? Naw. They won the big stuff.

Same applies to Bruno, as a captain, he could well win you the smaller cups, but for CL or PL wins, surely you need someone who doesn’t act like an absolute melt when the chips are down.

Also, as an aside does anyone have a pal who is so knee-jerkery that it actually makes you embarrassed/laugh in equal measure? If so, what was their worst knee-jerkey opinion? I have one Utd supporting pal who makes my life better, when they’re winning he is so full of bravado that you think he was on the pitch himself (he literally changed his profile pic to Casemiro when he scored two goals against Reading!) but yesterday showed me that he had bet against Utd and won 80 quid!

Would love to hear thoughts from both fans about this.
David (SEVEN in brackets) Molby, Shrewsbury

…I was at the game yesterday, and as a Liverpool fan, have to say, it does not get much sweeter. But I am not here to gloat, I will let others do that.

Liverpool were brilliant and United were p***-poor. Seven was amazing, but let’s face it, pretty much everything went well for us and as a rule, that hasn’t happened much this season. The Liverpool players should delight in that and then feel a sense of shame about some of the terrible performances at the turn of the year.

The xg comments are ridiculous – who cares?! Sometimes it just goes right, sometimes it doesn’t. Simple.

I actually wanted to make a couple of points on United. Firstly, lads, you’re not quite as good as you think; let me elaborate. Looking back over the Premier league fixtures, many United games have been won by the odd goal and a more than a few of the defeats (Brentford 4-0, City 6-3 and now Liverpool 7-0) have been absolute embarrassments.

Watching United as an outsider, (albeit a very biased Liverpool fan) the overall instinctive reaction has been you’ve consistently been a bit lucky. Last minute goals, individual brilliance etc. All valid of course, but there hasn’t been quite the progression you have desired.

Watching Weghorst yesterday, I actually felt a bit sorry for him. A team with aspirations of winning the title surely can’t rely on a guy who works his socks off but ultimately fails to score anywhere near enough goals. I know it’s a short term loan but he wouldn’t get anywhere near any of the top teams’ starting XI. He has now played 27 Premier league games and scored two goals. Two. Darwin Nunez, too early to call whether he will be a great, has scored 8 in 19 appearances. Not far off one in two. And the grief he gets! We have to wait and see.

Your captain is an absolute embarrassment to you and himself. Is there a more hated player in the Premier League?

Weghorst, Shaw, Dalot, McTominay, Fred, Varane, De Gea, Antony, Martinez, Malacia – are they good players having a decent season or pretty poor players having a good spell (up until yesterday?) TIme will tell. But it is much too early to say. It’s far too early to be glorifying Ming too. He’s had a great start, won the Carabao, but he himself will know there is a long way to go.

Ask a Liverpool, City, Arsenal fan who they would take out of that squad: honestly, not trolling, I would have Casemiro (in a heartbeat), Rashford and Garnacho. Fernandes is a decent player, but I wouldn’t want his poison anywhere near the LFC dressing room. I doubt if City would take anyone.

And finally, Gary Neville. Jesus Christ. I have watched his diatribe a few times now and it just gets better and better. He has gone from being an excellent pundit to an utter pastiche of himself, whining and moaning like a little child. It was excruciating to watch him last night getting picked off by Souness and a smirking Carragher, especially when Roy Keane took it like a man. The fact my Sky subscription helps to pay his salary is a constant source of irritation. If he cannot offer even a semblance of neutrality, ship him off to ManUtd TV, where he belongs.
ANON

We should talk about Bruno
A few weeks back most sports pages were carrying stories regarding abuse of officials in the lower levels of the football pyramid. It was widely agreed that until something was done at the top, it was hard to see anything changing at the bottom. It should be, and remain, a focus. Then we have Bruno. Who has previous.

Fernandes has been labelled childish/petulant/unprofessional (+ much more) after his histrionics yesterday and I won’t disagree with any of those adjectives. I’m stunned though that none of the post-match analysis I’ve seen has covered his shove on the assistant referee. Granted it wasn’t an aggressive, violent kind of shove – it was definitely more in the frustrated category – but still, I’m lead to believe you can’t raise your hands to an official. If he gets away with it, despite multiple cameras capturing it, I’m not sure what that says to any Saturday or Sunday footballer out there. Why has the VAR not said something?

What happened to retrospective punishment for trying to con the referee as well? Is that no longer a thing?

I love football, I really do. I just wish they’d grow some balls and stamp this sh*t out.

To G Nev, having the better chances isn’t the same as being the better team, and a freak result can also mean the other team played well. Not everything is an absolutism.

Toodles,
Gary, AVFC

…Two incidents yesterday that summed up why Bruno Fernandes shouldn’t be wearing the armband. If it wasn’t his reaction to a light brush from Konate (embarrassing attempt at cheating when you’re being outplayed) it was the reaction when he failed to foul Bajcetic towards the end. Sticks a leg out, doesn’t actually take the kid down, and then proceeds to stand absolutely still as Bajcetic drives forwards and creates another opportunity.

I’ve asked similar questions about Fernandes after maulings at Old Trafford and Anfield before, but how many times can you do that against your biggest rivals and keep the armband? Long may it continue.
Manjo, LFC (I do love our “limited” skipper)

Enjoy the DVD, Liverpool fans
Okay that was hard to watch, but when all said and done I would still rather be in our position than theirs, one cup in the bag and a chance at two more as well as being third in the league seven points above Liverpool. So gents well done in your cup final, you can all buy your copy of the DVD from the super store but it doesn’t change the fact United are moving forward under Ten Hag and Liverpool have nothing to play for apart from damage limitation in Madrid.
Paul Murphy, Manchester (The Madrid quote might bite me on the arse)

It’s getting better all the time…
Last season the aggregate score against Liverpoool was 9-0, yesterday’s result meant this season it’s 8-2. The definite signs of progress under Ten Haag keep coming.
Ronnie Buzzard, Manchester

Keep the good news coming please
I wrote a few weeks ago at how I was able to look at the football news following our win over Everton with glee as opposed to from behind the sofa.

I appreciate in the world of 24-hour news and rolling content creation, media outlets want to get their thoughts out ASAP.

This morning I have but one request, please F365 et al. Don’t rush it. We’ve got all week to drink it in.
Marc

Almost instant karma
On Saturday afternoon I was doing what I always do, listening to the football while scrolling through Twitter. Let me tell you, when Arsenal were 0-2 down, there were A LOT of United fans laughing and mocking Arsenal. Now if I’ve learned anything about the universe recently, it is that it will kick you so hard in the ass when you’re gloating and mocking. It is why Arsenal fans seem so reluctant to say anything out loud at the moment for fear of jinxing it. So I hope you United fans have learnt a valuable lesson, maybe hold off any banter, because Karma is a bitch!
John (I’ve never heard the Emirates like that! I dunno if my heart can take another 12 games) Matrix AFC

…From winning a cup one week and then getting done 7-0 by your fiercest rival soon, it must feel like coming down from an extreme highest high to lowest low in such a short space of time.

The best/worst/funniest (delete as per your allegence) part of yesterday’s 7-0 was that was pretty much the strongest Manu side they could/would field and the one that had picked up a load of points in the league.

When I think back to my team’s 8-2 humbling/trashing at OT I console myself that it was August and the team selection was ‘special’ due to the injuries and various red cards in our preceeding games that mant we had Carl Jenkinson & Armand Traore in defence and Francis Coquelin making his debut.

I’m not sure what excuses are available for this, might have to get the cheermister Gary Neville out to find out. His face yesterday was superb, it brought me joy.
JT