“That ain’t right” - Rio Ferdinand hits out at Manchester United star over statement following Tottenham defeat
Rio Ferdinand has questioned Bruno Fernandes' comments about Manchester United's performance against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, September 29. The pundit has urged him to retract his statement.
The Red Devils locked horns with Ange Postecoglou's men at Old Trafford on Sunday. Erik ten Hag's side had an awful start to the encounter, conceding within the first three minutes courtesy of Brennan Johnson's strike.
Things took a turn for the worse after Bruno Fernandes was sent off for a foul on James Maddison towards the end of the first half. A pair of second-half goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke put the game to an end for Manchester United.
After the game, Fernandes said (via Football365):
"Obviously, I left my teammates with one man down, and I do appreciate everything they did on the pitch, which obviously was tougher for them. We didn’t start the game well when it was 11 v 11, then obviously, the result is on their side and we get the situation with the red card."
“They did very well, they tried. Obviously, we conceded another two goals but it was difficult to cover all of the spaces. But I think there are many good things we can take away from this – the resilience of the team was always there and I am really proud of the team.”
Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand did not agree with Fernandes' assessment, urging him to watch the game and see how they actually played. He said:
"One of the quotes that came from that interview was that he said, ‘Many good things we can take away from today, I’m really proud of the team.' He’s going to have to watch that game back and then retract that statement because that ain’t right, he hasn’t seen it the way we have on the telly. It’s very different.”
Manchester United will next face Porto in the Europa League on Thursday (October 3).
"It's a clear foul but never a red card" - Bruno Fernandes speaks on his sending-off in Manchester United's loss to Tottenham
Bruno Fernandes insists that he was wrongly sent off against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. The Portugal international has questioned referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to give him a straight red card.
During the first half, Fernandes attempted to win the ball from James Maddison. However, the Manchester United midfielder slipped while making the tackle and raised his boots against Maddison's shin.
After the game, Fernandes said about the incident:
"I don't take him as everyone wants to see it. I don't go in with the studs, I take him with my ankle, it's a clear foul but never a red card. Even Maddison when he gets up, he said it was a foul but never a red card. You can see it's never a red card and if it is, we have to look at many other incidents."
"I have many incidents against me and I've never seen it come so quick as a red card. The contact is not that strong. If he wants to give me a yellow because it's a counter-attack, I agree and I don't know why VAR doesn't call the referee to the screen. For me, it's not a good decision."
Manchester United are currently 12th in the league table, six points adrift of the top four. The Red Devils have won just two of their six league fixtures so far this season and have a goal difference of -3.