'I wasn't performing': Bruno Fernandes says Carrick was right to drop him after criticism

Fernandes accepted Carrick's decision to drop him after criticising tactics, saying the punishment was justified as he wasn't performing.

Bruno Fernandes reflected on his recent benching by Michael Carrick, accepting the manager's decision to drop him after he criticised tactics in a post-match interview following Manchester United's 4-1 loss at Como. Fernandes was an unused substitute against Bournemouth before returning to help United stage a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to beat Roma in the Champions League at Old Trafford, with his twice-taken penalty setting the revival in motion.

"The manager took a decision of making myself on the bench because I wasn't performing. And that's fair," Fernandes said. "Everyone felt like that was a punishment for the words that I had. And if it was, it was right." He stressed the win was important for the club and squad rather than specifically about saving Carrick's job, saying: "We don't need to save anyone's job. The club needed that win."

Carrick praised the atmosphere at Old Trafford and the performance of 19-year-old substitute Shea Lacey, who set up Matheus Cunha's winning goal. The victory ended a run of one win in ten games and narrowly avoided United's longest winless streak since March 1978.