Ten Hag slams ‘crazy’ Fernandes criticism after Man Utd win

Erik ten Hag has branded criticism of Bruno Fernandes as “crazy” after the midfielder scored Manchester United’s winner in opposition to Aston Villa on Sunday.

Fernandes confronted questions on whether or not he ought to captain United once more within the aftermath of the 7-0 defeat to Liverpool in March.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, extra (U.S.)

Ten Hag defended the Portugal worldwide on the time and took the chance to take action once more after he helped United to an important victory within the race for the highest 4.

“He’s so tough, a couple of weeks ago there were questions about his captaincy, it’s crazy,” Ten Hag informed his postmatch information convention.

“He’s such a big leader. He gives so much energy to the team. His determination, his passion, his resilience; we need such players if you want to win games and make trophies.”

Fernandes was left needing crutches after the FA Cup semifinal in opposition to Brighton however returned to the workforce to play 90 minutes within the 2-2 draw with Tottenham simply 4 days later.

He was named captain in opposition to Villa within the absence of Harry Maguire and scored the one objective of the sport within the first half after Emiliano Martinez had parried Marcus Rashford’s shot.

“You need players like Bruno to be successful,” Ten Hag added. “He understands the moment when to close down, when to put an opponent into trouble,

“He is aware of when to trace again and shut passing traces, shut opponents, even when our press will get beat he tracks again. He can play in between traces after which get behind traces. He has so many expertise, it is a pleasure to work with gamers like him.”

The win over Aston Villa was played out against a backdrop of protest at Old Trafford with fans demonstrating against the Glazer Family’s ownership before kick-off.

Supporters carried banners on a march from Manchester city centre demanding a “full sale” two days after third and final bids for control of the club were lodged by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatar-backed Sheikh Jassim.

“We felt the followers have been behind us,” said Ten Hag when asked about the protests. “We need to focus to achieve success as a result of that is what the followers count on, they need to depend on us, we are going to deal with that. When we hold performing like we do all season the followers are behind us.”