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During Manchester United’s FA Cup victory over Nottingham Forest, manager Erik ten Hag claimed that the opposing team deliberately focused on Bruno Fernandes and expressed frustration at the criticism aimed at his captain, which he deemed pathetic.
Despite a significant injury, the midfielder from Portugal was able to contribute to United’s 1-0 win against Forest. He assisted in Casemiro’s game-winning goal in the 89th minute, which was scored from a free-kick.
He faced many tough tackles from Forest during the entire 90-minute match, and was subject to jokes on social media after Saturday’s defeat against Fulham, where he sustained an injury.
The official TikTok account of Fulham playfully made fun of him for seemingly faking an injury, causing Ten Hag to become annoyed.
When asked about the seriousness of Fernandes’ injury, he responded, “I don’t want to discuss it because Forest was specifically targeting him. I can’t disclose the specific type of injury, but it was significant.”
“He received several fouls. I may have been overly critical, but the defenders were very aggressive with him when he had possession.”
Afterwards, I observe that reputable journalists are denouncing him, while social media is terrible and that is unacceptable.
Despite a significant injury, he persisted in playing on Saturday and fought to be included in today’s game, displaying a remarkable ability to tolerate pain.
“During the previous year, he also displayed a similar behavior during the match against Spurs and in the semi-finals, which highlights his leadership qualities. This demonstrates his strong character and is a valuable trait in a leader.”
United did not have a typical performance, but they still managed to secure a win and maintain their chances of ending the season with a trophy intact. They will face Manchester City in the upcoming Premier League match on Sunday.
It won’t be a simple task, as they have been drawn to play against Liverpool at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals in two and a half weeks.
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“There are numerous strong teams in the Premier League. Currently, Liverpool is at the top, but we are excited for the challenge and we thrive on facing tough opponents on the field. This game presents a great opportunity for us to showcase our abilities.”
“Firstly, we are eagerly anticipating Sunday.”
As the clock ran down, Casemiro skillfully redirected a pass from Fernandes into the net, causing the away fans of United to erupt with excitement.
After a thorough review by the VAR, the goal stands despite initial concerns of offside. Raphael Varane, who was in an offside position, was involved in a play where he blocked some Forest players. However, it was determined that he was not interfering with the game.
Forest has been feeling increasingly frustrated with calls made by referees in the past few weeks, so they have brought in Mark Clattenburg to serve as a liaison to the PGMOL. Clattenburg was seen sitting next to Howard Webb.
This was another choice that worked to their disadvantage. However, manager Nuno Espirito Santo chose to disregard Ten Hag’s proposal of focusing on Fernandes and did not want to dwell on it.
Nuno said: “I didn’t see clearly the images but speaking with the players they say it is a block and a possible offside. They checked it.
During this time, there have been numerous problems with VAR and officiating which we are trying to put behind us and continue moving forward.
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I believe we had a strong performance and played well, much better than our last game. This shows improvement.
“It is disheartening to lose at the end, but I believe we played well. Unfortunately, in football, fate can be unforgiving and today, we ended up on the receiving end.”
Source: independent.co.uk
