Fernandes’ exclusion from the starting line-up came four days after he criticised Carrick’s tactical approach in the 4-1 UCL loss at Como.
By Kehinde Okeowo
British pundit and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has claimed that Manchester United manager Michael Carrick left club captain Bruno Fernandes on the bench throughout United’s 3-0 loss to Bournemouth on Sunday to ’embarrass’ the midfielder.
The Reds legend made his feelings known recently on Sky Sports while discussing why the influential Portuguese did not feature in the match.
Fernandes was named among the substitutes for a Premier League match for merely the sixth occasion since his arrival at Manchester United in January 2020, as reported by Opta.
During the encounter, Rayan Vitor opened the scoring for the visitors with a volley following Justin Kluivert’s free-kick in the 38th minute.
Marcus Tavernier then made it 2-0 after Leny Yoro lost possession to Adrien Truffert, before Evanilson completed the scoring in the 71st minute.
ALSO READ: Chris Sutton tips Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea to win week 8 EPL fixtures
Carrick brought on Matheus Cunha at the interval in place of Youri Tielemans, subsequently introducing Lisandro Martinez, Joshua Zirkzee, and Shea Lacey from the substitutes’ bench—accounting for four of his five available substitutions.
Although Fernandes warmed up during the match, he was never deployed and remained on the bench for the entirety of Manchester United’s defeat at Old Trafford.
Fernandes’ exclusion from the starting line-up came four days after his criticism of Carrick’s tactical approach in the 4-1 UEFA Champions League (UCL) loss at Como.
Reacting to the gaffer’s decision to leave his captain out during the league match, Carragher contended that Carrick had no intention of introducing the Portuguese midfielder into the game.
He further stated that the English tactician’s justification for leaving him out did not align with his observations at Old Trafford.
Addressing the snub, Carragher noted: “I believe he never intended to bring him on. It was a deliberate decision to keep him on the bench in an attempt to essentially embarrass him.”
