“He won’t be starting till further notice…He must clearly improve to included in the squad again”: Erik ten Hag finally bows to fans pressure, removed big name player from the squad till further notice
Manchester United has been playing well lately, but after being held to a scoreless draw away at Crystal Palace on Saturday night, Erik ten Hag’s team lost ground once more. It may be time for the manager to make some tough decisions over the starting lineup.
The club’s 3-0 home loss to fierce rivals Liverpool just before the international break left fans disappointed. With convincing victories against Barnsley in the EFL Cup and Southampton in the league, the Red Devils seemed to have turned a new page.
But if United’s brash display on Saturday is any indication, they still have a lot of work ahead of them to get back into the top four this year. Although United outplayed their opponents in terms of possession and shots on goal, one player’s action in particular has angered fans.
Ten Hag Has to Decide on Fernandes
Despite signing a new long-term deal with the team earlier this summer, Bruno Fernandes has battled with form this season and has yet to make an impression at Selhurst Park. Ten Hag has to make a change since his performance against Palace on Saturday night summed up his recent lackluster performances.
Sofascore reports that Fernandes gave up possession 34 times in the 94 minutes of play at Selhurst Park, which may have been expensive for the squad. To put it in perspective, Amad Diallo was the starter with the second-highest turnover rate (19 turnovers).
With United handed a late free-kick, Fernandes had a chance to even the score, but the Palace defense easily handled and cleared his effort into the area. Again, the midfield player had the lowest passing accuracy of all the starts at just 72%.