Man Utd must get back to where they belong, says Fernandes

Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United must get back to where they belong under Ruben Amorim, having returned to winning ways against Leicester City in the Premier League.

The United captain marked his 250th appearance for the club with a goal and an assist in their 3-0 victory, also forcing Victor Kristiansen into an own goal in the first half.

He has now been directly involved in 100 goals in 170 appearances for United in the Premier League, reaching this milestone with just one more appearance than Cristiano Ronaldo (169) did.

Having gone unbeaten in their four games in all competitions under interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy after Erik ten Hag’s departure last month, United are now preparing for the arrival of new boss Amorim on Monday.

Fernandes was happy to help Van Nistelrooy sign off with a win and is hopeful that United can kick on under their new coach.

“It was a long time that I wasn’t scoring and now goals are coming in the last few games,” Fernandes said.

“Another clean sheet was important for us to bring back the fortress we had here. We have to keep doing that and we have to improve.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy fills the club, he loves the club, he wants to bring joy to the players. He brought everyone with a smile to the games, he just wanted us to enjoy it. We wanted to say goodbye as a manager for him properly because he did good things for us.

“It’s a new era, a new manager means everything changes, but what hasn’t changed is that this club has to get back to where it belongs.”

100 – Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in 100 goals in 170 appearances for Manchester United in the Premier League, reaching this milestone with just one more appearance than Cristiano Ronaldo (169) had upon doing so. Century. pic.twitter.com/iJX1o3HVSW

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 10, 2024

Leicester failed to score in a Premier League match for the first time this season, despite an improved second-half performance.

This defeat means they have won just two of their 11 league matches this season (D4 L5), only having fewer wins at this stage of a single Premier League campaign on one occasion (one in 2001-02).

They had a big chance in either half, with Andre Onana making fine stops to keep out Wilfried Ndidi and Jordan Ayew as Leicester struggled to show their usual attacking threat in Jamie Vardy’s absence.

But Steve Cooper was not using that as an excuse for their performance on Sunday.

“The result will paint the picture but, in the end, we didn’t show enough desire in either penalty area. We let two unopposed shots from outside the area for the goals,” Cooper said.

“Two of the goals have come from our corners as well, which is frustrating. It wasn’t a dangerous position, but we made it dangerous. At the other end, we got into good areas but didn’t show that same desire.

“Our general play was fine but, in the end, we didn’t have the purpose. We had good spells, we were in the game, it didn’t feel like they were going to score the next goal.

“We can’t just say we missed Jamie Vardy; we can’t be reliant on that.”