Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was supposed to be the hero of Manchester United's away game at Galatasaray, with a pass and a shot in the opening 20 minutes to build a 2-0 lead. However, compared to Roy Keane, Fernandes had a clear shortcoming, which was laid bare in the Reds' eventual equaliser. According to Athletic.com, B Fee himself knows what the problem is, but he can't solve it, which leads to Manchester United's two-goal lead, but still can't win easily, and may lose the chance to qualify for the Champions League group. In the past, Manchester United were a team that never gave up and faced more adversity, but now the Red Devils are the opposite, often slacking off and giving their opponents a chance to breathe. To some extent, Fernandes is responsible for this model, he likes to play in a risky way, but it is a double-edged sword. A good example happened in the 27th minute of the game.
Fernandes had just scored the world wave to extend their lead to two goals before continuing to look for opportunities on the pitch. Fernandes found space and midfielder Amrabat played the ball over and the Portuguese played it to Antony on the right. At that moment, United could have opted to possession of the ball from a 2-0 lead, but Antony tucked the ball into the forward sprint of McTominay and Fernandes also saw it as an opportunity, as he broke through the four players around him in the hope that Wheat would pass the ball to him. However, McTominay decided to cross for centre-forward Hojlund, and the ball eventually deflected into the hands of Galatasaray goalkeeper Muslera, who quickly passed the ball to Lucas Torreira to launch a counter-attack. Fernandes saw the gap at the back and the Portuguese Ironman was running aggressively, running for 70 yards to chase the opposition back to the vicinity of his own penalty area.
Alejandro Garnacho also rushed to defend and Torreira continued to run after passing the ball to Hakim Ziyech. At this point, Fernandes stopped, and ended up falling behind his opponent, only to be forced to foul from behind after Torreira had the ball again. If it weren't for Andre Onana's mistakes in setting up the wall and making saves, the foul wouldn't have been too much of a problem. However, this is not the first time such a problem has occurred, with United's defensive system often having problems. Galatasaray were in a 4-on-5 situation up front when Fernandes were chasing Torreira, but the Red Devils' defensive options ended up being a problem. The problem for Manchester United is that there are serious deficiencies in defending and controlling the tempo of the game. In the game, Amrabat was forced to defend alone, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka was entangled by former Crystal Palace team-mate Zaha, causing the defence to lose depth. Lindelof's step-back tactics made the situation even worse.
Fee's final foul may have been caused by tired legs, and he was worried that he would not be able to continue running, but also with a hint of anger. He immediately blamed Scott McTominay for his mistake in selecting a cross, but as United captain he should have been calm rather than anxious. After all, with the team leading by two goals, he should have kept his composure and controlled the situation. It was also said after the game, "better management of the game". Coach Ten Hag is also to blame. He devised a tactical system that allowed the two midfielders to be positioned too far forward, leaving space behind them. While this was done to create goalscoring chances, it actually led to holes in the defence. Scott McTominay is currently the team's top scorer and has been repositioned as a no.8 to play into the opposition box. Fernandes, on the other hand, is the number 10 player, which is the position he does best.
However, both of them lack the ability to control the pace of the game and are not good at taking the initiative to slow down, so they are unable to control the situation when needed. Ten Hag is also to blame. Whether it's the manager who sets the tactics or the players in the actual game, they all have their own responsibilities. Overall, however, United accelerated several times while leading the game, leading to the burial of a good game. What is confusing is that both Ten Hag and B Fee, they are clear about the problem, and both mention the key word "control of the game". Just like Onana, Fernandes also made a mistake before Galatasaray's second goal, tripping Ziyech outside the box. Manchester United defended even more than Galatasaray, but they still defended four with six. To make matters worse, Ziyech stayed far from goal and the foul was completely unnecessary. B Fee knelt down with his hands folded after being called for a foul in an attempt to show that he had not committed a foul.
However, the slow motion clearly shows that he tripped the other from behind, which is definitely an unnecessary foul. Of course, Onana was to blame for conceding the goal, as Ziyech's free-kick was unthreatening and even an amateur goalkeeper should have been able to keep out, but he slotted it into his own net. However, the root of the problem remains the void in United's midfield. Manchester United's performances this season have been fraught with contradictions. In the Premier League, they struggle to score goals, the fewest of the top 12 teams;However, in the Champions League, they scored 12 goals and ranked third. The team's contradictions are also reflected in some players, such as Hojlund, who topped the scoring charts with five goals in the Champions League but has so far failed to score in the Premier League. The same goes for Fernandes, who can create chances to assist or score goals himself, but also make low-level mistakes that lead to loss of possession and are counter-attacked.
Manchester United's players all have distinct strengths and weaknesses, but they seem to lack a manager who can make the best use of his players like Alex Ferguson. Ten Hag is a good coach but seems to lack the wizards to tick the team, just like he has no hair, which is a fact that cannot be changed. Although Ten Hag has repeatedly stated that the team is developing and learning Xi from every experience, the reality is that United are repeating the same mistakes. Despite five wins in the last six matches, it doesn't mean you're on the right track. In the Premier League, Manchester United have won 8 games, and all opponents have been teams ranked below them. However, they have failed to get a win against the top six teams, with Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City all having already won against Manchester United. Over the next two-and-a-half weeks, United will face Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool in what will be a test to see if they really learn their lesson.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag's side will have to beat Bayern Munich at Old Trafford to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League. The philosopher Herbert Spencer once said, "The great purpose of education is not knowledge, but action." "Players like Manchester United, Ten Hag and Fernandes need to prove themselves with more practical actions.