Man Utd star told to ‘stop trying to top people’ after being slammed for petulant behaviour

Bruno Fernandes has been slammed for ‘lashing out’ at Arsenal and Liverpool players, with Ian Wright claiming the Manchester United playmaker was ‘lucky’ not to see red in two damaging defeats for the Red Devils.

The Portuguese star, who penned a lucrative new contract with the club in early April, was visibly frustrated during the 4-0 defeat at Anfield and the 3-2 loss to the Gunners at the Emirates on Sunday.

Fernandes chopped down Trent Alexander-Arnold late on during the drubbing on Merseyside but only picked up a yellow.

He had more of impact on the game in north London. However, he missed a crucial penalty and was then booked for a nasty challenge on Nuno Tavares.

Speaking on the Ringer FC podcast, Wright said: “Seeing Bruno Fernandes just lashing out at people, lashing out at Trent really wildly, and then the challenge on Nuno, you look at it and you think to yourself, ‘that’s not what Manchester United need from you my friend’.

“Manchester United need a lot more than you going around trying to top people. He was lucky not to get sent off. But this is what it’s come to.”

Fernandes was a revelation when he first arrived at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020. He excelled during the second half of that season and then had 30 goal involvements in 37 league appearances as United finished second in the Premier League table last term.

However, this season has been much more of a struggle – with Fernandes notching just nine times.

And speaking last week, Liverpool legend Graeme Souness claimed Fernandes was too ‘petulant’ to be a top player. He told The Times: “[Erik] Ten Hag is walking into an absolute disaster.

“On the pitch, it has been a car crash of a club in the decade since [Sir Alex Ferguson] left.