Fernandes: We need to demand more

Saturday 22 February 2025 16:50

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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes sparked the Reds’ comeback to draw 2-2 at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.

He did so with a genius free-kick, making Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford believe he was going to lift an effort over the wall, before rocketing a strike into the base of the far corner, leaving the Toffees stopper stunned.

Discussing how he lit that second-half fire, after United went in at the break 2-0 down, the Portugal international told MUTV: “When you are in the dressing room at half-time after a game like this, you just have to focus on yourself and try to lift your standard and your game to try to get something from the game.

“Obviously, it was very tough for us in the first half because we were trying to do the things but it wasn’t working out in the way that we wanted.”

He certainly did focus on his own game after the break, taking responsibility, controlling the tempo in the middle of the pitch and not thinking twice before shooting for the space vacated by Pickford as he stepped up for that free-kick.

These efforts helped him win our Man of the Match award following the final whistle, by a clear margin.

“I think in the second half, obviously you’re 2-0 down, you have more freedom because you are already losing, so you have nothing to lose more.

“I think you get more of a try to do something else, and that’s why we get the result.”

Despite his sublime strike, and Manuel Ugarte’s well-volleyed equaliser, there’s no sense that Fernandes is getting carried away with the comeback.

“Every point now is massive for us because we are in a position that is very tough for us,” the midfielder continued. “Every point counts for us at the moment.

“We need to be aware that the position we’re in is not the best, it’s not where the club needs to be.