“Yeah, I was confident” – Bruno Fernandes lifts lid on reason behind penalty success at Manchester United
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes opened up on his consistent success from the penalty spot after United's win over Nottingham Forest on August 26.
In an interview with the club website after the Premier League clash, he spoke about his confidence from penalties and how preparation is key to his fantastic record.
"Yeah (I was confident)," Fernandes told MUTV after the win. "I have always the conversations with Craig (Mawson) about the penalties and with one of the goalkeeper coach. I always have a conversation with him; he shows me some videos of the goalkeeper on penalties and says what he thinks."
"I said to him what I think; sometimes I even speak with the keepers to understand, if it comes up in the moment of the game, what I have to do. Obviously, I do different things because it depends on the 'keeper, what I see on the videos, and the moment of the game. That is why," he added.
Fernandes kept his cool from the spot as Manchester United completed a sensational comeback to beat Forest 3-2 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils were dealt an early double blow, going down 2-0 inside five minutes as Taiwo Awoniyi and Willy Boly scored for the visitors.
However, United showed great resilience and character to stay in the game. Christian Eriksen pulled one back in the 17th minute before second-half goals from Casemiro and Fernandes handed United the three points on the night.
Fernandes has now scored 26 goals from the spot out of an overall 65 goals for United since arriving from Sporting CP in January 2022.
Erik ten Hag full of praise after Manchester United complete comeback
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag lauded his side's spirit and composure after they completed a fantastic comeback win over Nottingham Forest. Speaking after the game, the Dutchman said that his team did well to overcome a horror start that saw them go down 2-0 inside five minutes.
He said (via Football365):
"It's a horror start giving them two goals and making mistakes, but I'm very pleased with the comeback. The leadership, how we stayed calm and composed, stick to the plan and belief and turnaround."
"We played very good football, out of the plan and principles and rules we scored good goals."
He added:
"Every team in the start has areas they have to improve and we have some, we have to progress there if you want to be successful but you see this team as big characters, big personalities. There's big spirit in this team, they found a way to win."
Manchester United have now won two of their first three games of the season. They will next face Arsenal at the Emirates on September 3.