Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United are making it “too easy” for opponents as the frustrated midfielder reflected on all too familiar issues in the chastening defeat to Manchester City.
A fortnight on from the 5-0 home humiliation by arch-rivals Liverpool, their near neighbours came to Old Trafford and inflicted another home loss on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
The Norwegian is under fresh scrutiny and pressure after City won in a far more comfortable manner than the 2-0 scoreline suggests, with United struggling in and out of possession.
Manchester United’s Eric Bailly scores an own goal to gift Manchester City a 1-0 lead (Martin Rickett/PA)
Poor defending led to Eric Bailly’s own goal and then Bernardo Silva scoring on the stroke of half-time, leaving Fernandes to fume about costly traits.
“Obviously everyone is frustrated about the result, about the performance too,” the Portuguese said.
“We know we can do much better and we know this is not enough for a player who is representing this big club. We have to look at the mirror.
“I’m saying again the same things probably from the last interview, but that’s it.
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“We have to look at ourselves, everyone at his home, understand what they can do better to help the team.
“We just have to apologise to the fans and that’s it because it was not good enough from us.
“Great atmosphere they create. They pushed us until the end, they tried to give that energy to us but from us it was not enough.”
City opened the scoring seven minutes into proceedings when Bailly turned home a cross from Joao Cancelo, whose hopeful clipped cross late in the first half Luke Shaw thought he was seeing out until Silva nipped in.
There were countless poor defensive moments by United throughout a match that would have got far uglier had David De Gea not produced a string of superb saves between the visitors’ goals.
“It’s always a bad time to concede a goal,” Fernandes said. “The problem is the way we concede goals. It’s too easy.
“As I said many, many times, if was not David again the result could be much more higher and worse for us.
“We have to protect better, David, because he is protecting us a lot and we have to help him because he cannot make every game eight, nine saves and then still concede goals.”
United had only been three points behind City going into the match, but the loss means they ended Saturday as close to Burnley in the final relegation spot as Premier League leaders Chelsea.
“City was much better than us,” Fernandes told MUTV. “They go around the pitch, they touch the ball many times, they make us run.
