"Need the players to trust themselves" - Bruno Fernandes names one thing that worries him the most after Manchester United's loss to Brighton

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has shared his deepest concern after the Red Devils endured a 3-1 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, January 19. The two sides faced off at Old Trafford, where the visitors were victorious.

Yankuba Minteh showed a sign of things to come with an early goal for the Seagulls (5'). In the 23rd minute, Bruno Fernandes equalized from the penalty spot after Joshua Zirkzee was taken down in the box. However, the Red Devils were unable to turn things around.

Kaoru Mitoma put Brighton ahead on the hour mark (60'), before substitute Georginio Rutter pounced on Andre Onana's mistake to seal the game in their favor (76').

After the game, Bruno Fernandes shared his thoughts with the press, admitting (via UtdDistrict on X):

"For me, what worries me the most is the lack of confidence that we have at the moment to do the things we are able to do. I don't mind anyone losing the ball for trying something to help the team. We need the players to trust themselves."

While speaking with BBC Match of the Day afterward, the Manchester United captain opened up further on his thoughts:

"We can't concede goals so easily. We need to be more aggressive on the ball because this is the Premier League and the quality is so high. You have to be high intensity all the time. We need to be braver on the ball in the final third and between the lines. I need to keep the ball more between the lines and then play from there."

He added:

"We can't end up all the time with the ball at our goalkeeper like we do all the time. I believe that it's confidence and bravery to do the right things. Don't have fear of doing mistakes, that's part of football. We have to be brave to do it again and again. It doesn't matter how much pressure is on you or how difficult it is to play for Manchester United."

Manchester United now sit in 13th place with 26 points from 22 games. It is worth noting that they sit just 10 points ahead of Ipswich Town, who are sitting in the final relegation zone slot (18th).

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Ruben Amorim slams "underperforming" Manchester United players after Brighton loss

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has slammed the players for "underperforming" in his post-match press conference after the Brighton game. The former Sporting CP manager acknowledged that the Seagulls were better than his side in every area of the pitch, telling the press (via the club’s official website):

"The opponent is better than us in many details, that we cannot be consistent, that I am not helping my players in the moment."

"It's a hard moment and we have to acknowledge we are in a very difficult situation, all the bad records - losing games at home, losing games in the Premier League. We are really underperforming and we need to win games, that's all," he added.

Ruben Amorim has now taken charge of Manchester United for 15 games across competitions. However, his record has been rather poor, winning just five games in that time. He has also drawn three games and lost seven.