Why did Bruno Fernandes allow Marcus Rashford to convert a Man United penalty?
Bruno Fernandes has been Manchester United’s go-to penalty taker. However, in the team’s victory away to Everton, the captain deferred to Marcus Rashford.
In the win over Everton, Marcus Rashford took over for the penalty kicks, as Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes explained, because the England player “needed a bit of confidence”.
Before the match at Goodison Park, Rashford had only managed one goal in the league this entire season. That didn’t stop him from beating Jordan Pickford on the spot after Anthony Martial was brought down by former United captain Ashley Young nearby.
After a lengthy wait, Rashford’s goal was scored. Martial had been initially booked for diving, but VAR overturned the ruling. Although Fernandes, who recently scored United’s penalty against Copenhagen, stated he had no qualms about allowing his teammate to take the field, it was also a pressure penalty because United was only leading by one goal at the time.
With Martial scoring the third goal himself, United prevailed 3-0. But Everton had their opportunities prior to the second goal being scored.
“I felt Marcus needed a bit of confidence, and as Marcus is an excellent penalty taker too, I’m 100 percent sure that he could score that penalty,” Fernandes stated to Sky Sports. “Markus did a great job of scoring the penalty; it doesn’t matter who takes it.
The question about Rashford’s confidence was then posed more directly to the Portugal international. “Obviously strikers and wingers, they want to score goals, they need to score goals,” he stated. “That’s a component of their strategy, and it increases your momentum.
Martial's yellow card overturned and Bruno Fernandes gifting Rashford the penalty. pic.twitter.com/WTAPsZ3p9A
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“I think after the penalty, Marcus was unstoppable. He could take on everyone. So I think sometimes you need this chance, this opportunity to get your confidence back, but Marcus has been great for us.
Marcus has been fantastic for us.
With 30 goals across all competitions, Rashford led United in scoring the previous season, but he hadn’t scored a goal for the team since early September. Similarities could be found with Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, who scored his team’s first goal from open play and broke his goal duck against Bournemouth to give his team all three points at Brentford on Saturday.
“Obviously last season he was amazing, so everyone’s expectations for this season were higher,” Fernandes added when speaking about Rashford. “It’s just about getting his goals back and everyone… saying he’s world class again.”
United, who have recovered from a poor domestic start but still face challenges in Europe, won the league for the third time in a row. They will be eliminated from the Champions League if they lose at Galatasaray midweek, but Fernandes emphasized that the team has remained united even in the absence of victories.
“I think we have had this [togetherness] since the beginning of the season,” he said. “Obviously the results didn’t show that and you know results are really important in football and these days everyone is expecting you to win every game, even more at Man Utd. The togetherness is there, it’s about getting the results back.”
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