Bruno Fernandes change explained after Man Utd star’s frustration at decision
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The reason for Bruno Fernandes’ substitution in the goalless draw with Liverpool has been explained by Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following his angry public response.
Key man Fernandes was taken off in the dying embers of the clash at Anfield that ended 0-0 with Mason Greenwood entering the fray.
Despite the game fizzling out, Fernandes was clearly furious at being denied the opportunity to score the winning goal, and demonstrated his frustration to Solskjaer.
The Portuguese was taken off despite Scott McTominay appearing to pick up a knock which left him needing treatment initially before signalling he was fine to continue.
Such was Fernandes reluctance to leave the pitch, Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum confronted his opponent to get off.
And Solskjaer has explained why he refused to give in to the playmaker’s demands to stay on.
"It was a tactical decision," Solskjaer said. "Bruno has been running his socks off every single game since he came. He has been here a year and running more or less every game.
"Towards the end, we felt Paul’s physical presence in there might be a chance for us and Mason, when he gets a chance, can score in the blink of a second.
“So it was a bit of a throw of the dice to put Mason on even though he had to defend against Robertson."
The draw keeps United top of the table by two points, though second place Manchester City have a game in hand.
And Solskjaer maintained that the current standings mean nothing, it’s where United finish that will matter.
“It doesn’t really matter where we are now, it matters where we are in May,” the Norwegian added.
“We move on, carry on. We feel that we’ve developed and that is a good feeling with being disappointed to only get one point away.”
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
- Manchester United FC
- Bruno Fernandes
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