Gary Neville blasts Bruno Fernandes for petulance during Manchester City defeat

Manchester United legend Gary Neville blasted Bruno Fernandes for his petulance during the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, and said he’s ‘not conning anybody’.

The midfielder replaced Harry Maguire as club captain earlier this summer, with Erik ten Hag keen to give the armband to a regular starter. Fernandes was widely criticised for his actions with the armband last season, particularly during a 7-0 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield when he shoved the linesman.

The fiery playmaker allowed his will-to-win to get the better of him against City, once the visitors had gone 3-0 up at Old Trafford. Fernandes went crashing into tackles once Phil Foden put in City’s third goal.

Neville Accuses Fernandes of Setting Wrong Tone

And Neville accused Fernandes of setting the wrong tone for the team, and said he wasn’t fooling supporters. Having earlier predicted that Fernandes would begin to lose his rag, Neville commented on the midfielder clattering into John Stones.

‘There you go,’ said Neville. ‘The problem is he’s running round trying ‘to do’ people. He’s tried ‘to do’ John Stones and he’s ended up hurting himself. Stones has seen him coming and said ‘have that’. He’s a massive talent Bruno Fernandes but he’s not conning anyone in what he’s been doing these last few minutes.’

Fernandes Loses His Rag

In the dying minutes, Antony was yellow carded for kicking out at Doku. But once again, Neville felt the blame was with Fernandes for setting the tone for the rest of the team.

‘United have lost their discipline and it starts with the captain,’ said Neville. ‘They think it cons everybody but half the crowd have left because they know what they are. Running around kicking some people when you’re 3-0 down is no good’.

Conclusion

Gary Neville’s criticism of Bruno Fernandes’ petulance during Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City serves as a reminder that even the most talented players can’t afford to lose their discipline on the pitch. While Fernandes is a huge talent, his actions set a bad example for his teammates and showed a lack of respect for his opponents.

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