“He looked absolutely terrible" - Ex-Manchester United star slams Bruno Fernandes despite goals in 4-1 win vs Wolves

Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker slammed Bruno Fernandes for his ‘poor’ first-half performance in the Red Devils’ commanding 4-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Fernandes played a vital role in United’s victory, scoring twice and providing one assist to give the club their biggest win of the season so far. His assist also saw him become the fifth player to record an assist in five consecutive away Premier League games.

Despite bagging two goals and one assist, Parker was unimpressed with Fernandes’ first-half display and believes he ‘got away with it.’ He told Metro:

“He was really poor in the first half, Fernandes. I know he got himself a goal. I mean, his poor decisions sometimes, he was giving the ball away far, far too cheaply. But he got away with it, because his reaction to when he gives the ball away; sometimes he has to accept that when other players do it, he’s got to accept them as well sometimes. He looked absolutely terrible, but there you are.”

Fernandes opened the scoring in the 25th minute from close range after being picked out by Matheus Cunha, but Jean-Ricner Bellegarde put Wolves back on level terms on the stroke of the first period. Six minutes after the restart, Bryan Mbeumo restored Manchester United’s lead, while Mount added a third just after the hour mark. Eight minutes from time, Fernandes completed his brace and sealed the win from the spot.

The result meant Manchester United climbed to sixth in the Premier League table.

Paul Parker labels Bruno Fernandes ‘armband captain,’ names Manchester United star who has leadership qualities

Speaking further, Parker heaped praise on Lisandro Martinez and claimed the Argentine defender demonstrated leadership qualities that Fernandes doesn’t possess. Martinez came off the bench for just his third appearance since recovering from the ACL injury he suffered in February.

Despite playing only 21 minutes at Molineux Stadium, Parker was pleased with Martinez’s cameo, saying he’s a leader. He continued:

“I’ll tell you what I did notice as well, Martinez. He came on, he went into the middle, and you could see him ushering people. When he got on the ball, he was ushering them forward. Step forward, he was telling them, he was organising them. He was getting around them, he was doing that when he came on. He’s been out there, he’s only had a few minutes of football, but he’s in his genes to do that. He is a leader.

“You don’t need an arm band to be a leader, just somebody who wants more from other people. And that’s what he’s done. Fernandes doesn’t do that, he doesn’t give you that. He’s an armband captain because he’s seen as United’s most important player.”

Fernandes has been Manchester United’s captain since July 2023, having been handed the role by former manager Erik ten Hag as Harry Maguire’s replacement.