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TalkSPORT pundit Alan Brazil has slammed Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes for his "shocking" antics during matches.
This comes after the Red Devils' 2-1 defeat to Fulham last Saturday (February 24). Following the win, the Cottagers appeared to mock Fernandes in a video posted on their official TikTok account. In the video, the Portugal international can be seen going down after a tackle before swiftly getting up and resuming play. The post was captioned "So glad he's OK."
With Erik ten Hag demanding an apology for the post, Brazil sided with Fulham and said (via HITC):
"He is the captain. I hate to say – I am with Fulham. He goes down. He cheats basically, he cheats too much. He should be setting an example not doing that.
“You know where I said about cheating cheating, look, there is no doubt that Bruno is a very good player, so I am not having a go at him for the way he plays, but he is one of the worst (for rolling around), he is one of the worst."
He concluded by saying:
“Why does he do it? You don’t need to do that, trying to con the referee. If someone catches you, fine, no problem, see ref, come on, but don’t get down. Shocking, honestly.”
Fernandes has struggled to find the net this campaign, having registered just three goals in 25 Premier League matches. However, his performance will be crucial if Manchester United are to take anything from the Etihad against Manchester City on Sunday (March 3).
Pep Guardiola responds to question on expectations from Manchester United
Manchester City will look to keep up with Liverpool in the title race by beating Manchester United this weekend. The Cityzens are second in the standings, only a point behind the leading Reds.
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag's side are sixth in the league, eight points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa. However, Guardiola expects the best from his Manchester rivals, saying (via One Football):
"Always I expect the best of our opponents. The best performance of them is what I expect. My players know what I expect. I don’t talk one word what the opponents do. I respect (them) too much."
"When I say comments, people say ‘Pep say this..’ Not my intention. Enormous respect for the institution and Erik."
Manchester City won the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in October by three unanswered goals. Erling Haaland bagged a brace for Guardiola's men, while Phil Foden scored the third.
