Bruno Fernandes struggled in Man Utd’s draw with FC Twente (Image: Getty)
might find that he is no longer the main man at after he symbolised the Red Devils’ issues against FC Twente. The club captain struggled during the disappointing 1-1 Europa League draw with the Dutch side.
Fernandes was guilty of being lacklustre without the ball, and Twente found it too easy to pass around United’s press in the second half. The Portugal star was not the only Red Devils player to play poorly, but he sets the tone as captain and should have been leading by example.
and goalscorer Christian Eriksen . Neither of them named Fernandes but he was perhaps the main culprit.
“I saw in many games how high our work rate is, but today I have some criticism,” Ten Hag observed after the game. Eriksen added: “We are mostly disappointed as a team. We wanted more but in the end it was far from good enough.
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“Being said also in the changing room they looked like they wanted it more than us and that can’t be right.”
Fernandes has adopted a slightly different role in United’s last two games. When they are in possession, Ten Hag lines up his team in a 3-2-4-1 shape which, against Twente, pushed Fernandes and Eriksen high alongside striker Joshua Zirkzee.
That means Fernandes is no longer the solitary No 10. Previously, he was the chief creator behind the striker, with little competition for his place, but now finds himself assisted by an extra central midfielder. He was even pushed out wide to accommodate Mason Mount when the England international was introduced during the second half.
Erik ten Hag moved Bruno Fernandes to the right during Man Utd’s draw with Twente (Image: Getty)
Ten Hag’s decision to switch Fernandes’s position might have been informed by the 30-year-old’s below-par performance. But it also suggests that he now holds less influence when United have the ball, with Mount preferred in central areas for the final 15 minutes.
Fernandes was used on the right of United’s attack at times last season but failed to produce the goals and assists that he did when he was utilised in central areas. Ten Hag’s preference for Mount in the middle suggests the Dutchman prefers the former star’s pressing ability over Fernandes’s creativity.
Mount’s return to fitness may see Fernandes adopt a wide position more often. If that is the case, Fernandes’s influence at United is waning.