‘One of the hardest’ – Bruno Fernandes breaks silence on second straight Man Utd red card with 103-word Instagram post
BRUNO FERNANDES has broken his silence after a second straight red card for Manchester United.
The Red Devils captain was dismissed against Porto on Thursday, just five days after being sent off in the defeat to Tottenham.
He was shown a second yellow card for a high boot during the final 10 minutes of their 3-3 draw in the Europa League.
Meanwhile, Fernandes was sent for an early bath on Sunday following a lunge on James Maddison at Old Trafford.
His red card against Spurs has since been overturned on appeal, though, freeing him up to face Aston Villa this weekend.
It has not stopped Fernandes from releasing a 103-word statement in response to his second sending off of the week.
In an Instagram post, he wrote: “Tough moment as a team and personally for me, one of the hardest.
“Almost 5 years at the club with ups and downs, good and bad moments.
“Personally, I have always had challenges and adversities throughout my career and something that’s never happened was that I go silent or hide myself from responsibilities in difficult moments.
“I know it sounds cliché and most of you United fans will be tired of it, but no one is more disappointed than myself with my own moment.
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
“Even through this moment, I appreciate all of you that had positive messages of belief in me and the team.”
Fernandes will now miss United’s next Europa League match away to Fenerbahce later this month.
Man Utd ratings vs Porto
MAN UTD ended up with a 3-3 draw after throwing away a 2-0 lead away to Porto.
Here’s how SunSport’s Dylan Terry rated the Red Devils’ stars performances in Portugal
Andre Onana – 6/10
Reacted brilliantly the first time he was called into action with a flying save, only for Porto to score the rebound.
Porto then scored with their next shot on target too – Omorodion’s header – and Onana could do little about the excellent finish for Porto’s third.
Made two great stops to keep Man Utd in the game.
Noussair Mazraoui – 4
Looked fairly stable in the first 45 minutes but waned as the game went on.
All at sea at the start of the second half as Porto cut through the right-hand side of Man Utd’s defence with ease.
Matthijs de Ligt – 4
Looked imposing in the air as he dealt with Porto’s crosses from both sides, but then failed to get in front of Omorodion for the hosts’ second goal.
Like most of the Man Utd side, his performance dropped as the game went on and he was bullied by Porto’s No9.
Lisandro Martinez – 4
Should have reacted quicker for the first Porto goal as Pepe got ahead of him to nod into an empty net – with Martinez static on the six-yard box.
There is clearly not much of a partnership with De Ligt as Porto pulled them apart all evening.
Diogo Dalot – 4
Porto enjoyed a lot of success down Man Utd’s left-hand side and Dalot looked all at sea on several occasions.
Had little help from Martinez but still looked exposed.
Casemiro – 3
Anonymous yet again in Man Utd’s midfield – the ball just passes him by.
Could not even manage one of his customary fouls.
Christian Eriksen – 5
Looked leggy out of possession but produced an impressive run before laying it off to Hojlund for Man Utd’s second goal.
Then failed to make much more of an impact and his delivery from wide areas left a lot to be desired.
Bruno Fernandes – 4
A damning indictment of Man Utd’s current predicament as Fernandes was shown a red card for a second successive game.
Two high boots, two yellow cards, and another early bath for the Portuguese playmaker – who had worked tirelessly prior to his dismissal.
Amad Diallo – 5
Very quiet aside from one burst through the middle as Rashford received all of the ball over the other side.
Replaced by Antony who arguably created even less.
Rasmus Hojlund – 7
Made his case for starting ahead of Joshua Zirkzee with a goal, firing beyond Costa at the near post.
Held it up and then showed his strength and pace to run at Porto before the break – showing little rustiness in his first start of the season.
Marcus Rashford – 8
Rashford showed his directness for the opening goal, driving at the Porto back line and forcing the error from Costa.
A constant threat in the first half as he assisted Hojlund’s strike.
But he was then surprisingly hooked at the break, a decision that will need an explanation from Ten Hag.
Prior to this week, he had not been sent off during his almost five years with the Red Devils.
The 30-year-old went 241 appearances before a red card, only to receive two in two matches.
It was the first time he had been dismissed since September 2019, when he still played for Sporting Lisbon.