Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off shortly before half-time as his side experienced a dismal opening quarter in their match against Tottenham on Sunday.
Bruno Fernandes was sent off four minutes before halftime in Manchester United’s match against Tottenham, as the midfielder’s terrible season continues.
Though he slipped, Fernandes thrust his leg up at James Maddison’s knee, forcing the referee to send him out. Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville criticized the Red Devils after delivering a harsh verdict on Fernandes’ tackle.
“It really sums up Manchester United in the first half; to be fair, they’ve been a complete disaster. It’s one of the worst performances I’ve seen from Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, which is saying a lot,” he told Sky Sports.
“It’s been quite horrible. And he will be unable to believe what he has seen. I’m not talking about play patterns; I’m talking about their implementation in a football game. And now his captain has sent him off.
“When players respond like that, it indicates that something unexpected has occurred. Bruno Fernandes has gone knee high. I suppose he slips right before the tackle, but he won’t get away with it.”
Fernandes became only the fourth United captain to be sent off at Old Trafford in the Premier League, after Roy Keane in April 2001 (v Manchester City), Nemanja Vidic in March 2014 (v Liverpool), and Wayne Rooney in September 2014 (v West Ham).
The Portugal international had already watched his team fall down just 2 minutes and 35 seconds into the game as Micky van de Ven raced forward from defence and put Brennan Johnson up for a tap in.
Spurs dominated the first half, with United having only 37% possession and two efforts on target. Former Everton player Leon Osman described United as ‘a team in disorder’ as they failed to handle Ange Postecoglou’s side.
“It appeared Tottenham had been playing against 10 men for 40 minutes as they dominated. “We discussed the importance of winning this match before the game,” Osman told 5 Live.
“The Spurs appear to be a squad that is vying for the top four. United appear to be in chaos. They are far from the quality that Tottenham shown in the first half.”
