Manchester United endured a living nightmare on their trip to Anfield, where Liverpool absolutely slaughtered them with a 7-0 loss. That was the Red Devils’ worst loss in the history of the Premier League. They equalled the record for their worst-ever loss, matching a feat that was last achieved in 1930!
After full-time, there was no real redemption for any players. Almost the entire squad absolutely lost all momentum they had attained in recent months, leading up to their Carabao Cup final win last month. Their entire backline absolutely lost their minds, conceding some of the worst goals a ‘major’ side can concede.
But it’s not just a case of their defence being so bad that it resulted in that awful loss. They shipped six goals in the second half after being pretty decent in the first half. After the break, everyone lost their minds and mentally checked out – allowing Liverpool to pound on even more humiliation.
Fernandes produces embarrassing performance at Anfield
One player who performed at shocking low standards considering his role in the team was captain Bruno Fernandes. In his defence, the midfielder started the game in an unknown left-wing role because of Marcus Rashford operating as a no.9 on the day.
He missed a huge goal-scoring chance in the first half, diverting a free header in the box well wide of the target. Bruno failed to create anything major for his side and was bullied by the Liverpool defenders.
Pretended to be hit in the face when the contact was on his chest
The Portuguese star also didn’t help his case at all by playacting and moaning to the referee all game, while even pushing the assistant referee on one occasion.
His performance was probably the antithesis of how a Manchester United captain should act in a major derby, as he failed to lead from the front and almost allowed his team’s momentum to drop with his stinking attitude.
What did Fernandes do towards the end of Liverpool loss?
As the goals kept on flooding the Red Devils, Gary Neville – the commentator for Sky Sports for this game – seemingly noticed one thing about Fernandes towards the end of the game.
After Salah made it 6-0 for Liverpool, Neville indicated on commentary that he saw Fernandes gesturing to the United bench and asking why he hasn’t been substituted yet – just as Anthony Elanga replaced Marcus Rashford.
The ex-United captain slammed the midfielder, saying: “Bruno Fernandes is stood in the centre circle with his arms raised asking: ‘Why is it me not coming off?’ Honestly, I have to say some of his behaviour in the second half has been a disgrace.”
The reality behind Fernandes’ actions
However, this entire incident has been explained by a lot of other eyewitnesses that attended the slaughtering at Anfield. This involves some reputed journalists who, like Neville, had some of the best views of whatever went on inside the pitch.
Despite it looking like he might’ve been upset about not being taken off, Fernandes was just making gestures and asking about his position in the United system after Rashford got taken off and replaced by Elanga.
Bruno Fernandes has denied asking to come off towards the end of Manchester United's 7-0 defeat to Liverpool but was asking for clarification about his position after a substitution.
Fernandes was never really heard about shouting at Erik ten Hag to take him off, and it appears his gestures were more about having his own position clarified just minutes before full-time. Bruno’s poor record against the traditional ‘big-six’ in the Premier League continued with this loss, as he’s yet to find consistency against the major opposition.
Bruno has been one of the most-played United players this season, making 40 appearances and playing 3,503 minutes in all competitions. Ten Hag will be hopeful that his stinker against Liverpool is just a little bit of a blip and the final ‘disaster’ – as the manager faces an uphill battle to get the side back to firing on all cylinders after this crushing defeat.
