Along with the rest of his Manchester United teammates, Bruno Fernandes will be wondering exactly how things went so wrong against Bournemouth this afternoon.
Having come into the fixture on the back of a win over Chelsea, they would have been confident of following that up with another good showing on this occasion. However, they were utterly outplayed in every facet of the game at Old Trafford en route to a 3-0 defeat.
In truth, that scoreline could have been even worse.
By the time the third goal went in with 17 minutes left to play, it seemed that both the Manchester United players and fans had given up. That includes Bruno Fernandes, who would go on to be booked for dissent in the final ten minutes. With that being his fifth booking of the season, he will now miss the trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool next week.
Bruno Fernandes picks up a yellow card and will miss Man United's match away at Liverpool next week 😮 pic.twitter.com/oQtdSC5Lun
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 9, 2023
READ HERE: Liverpool Fans Call Out TNT Sports For Coverage Of Jordan Ayew Red Card
Richard Keys has theory on Bruno Fernandes Liverpool suspension
Bruno Fernandes often toes a dangerous line when it comes to the way he speaks to the officials, with it being felt that he went too far on this occasion. Picking up a yellow card in such circumstances is never a good look, although some hold the belief that him getting that booking was no coincidence.
Speaking on beIN SPORTS after the game, Richard Keys share a conspiracy theory that the player might not have been all that displeased with the prospect of a one-game suspension.
"He knows he's missing the game and that sums him up. He's not a leader, not a captain."@Richardajkeys thinks Bruno Fernandes knew full well of the ramifications of his booking today against Bournemouth meant he misses Anfield.#beINPL #MUFC #LFC pic.twitter.com/dkKG3clvOT
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) December 9, 2023
Gray: Do you think Fernandes knew he was one booking away from suspension?
Keys: Yes.
Gray: Do you think he thought 'I had a nightmare there last year, we're not playing well, Liverpool are playing well, if I get booked, I miss next week?'
Keys: Yes. In that last ten minutes, United stopped playing. It could have been four or five. He, I think, knows that next week could be a bad day out for the football club.
If we're all agreed that if he knew he got booked he would miss the game, then I can't think of any other scenario where I could allow him the room to manoeuvre on that and think 'it was a heated moment'. It wasn't.
Gray: It wasn't a heated moment because they were losing 3-0 with five minutes to go.
Keys: I think he knew he gets booked and I think he knew he misses the game. That for me sums him up. He's not a captain, he's not a leader. His position there has been question by proper Manchester United captains, people like Roy Keane, all season long.
Bruno Fernandes had a torrid time at Anfield last season, becoming massively frustrated as his team suffered a historic 7-0 defeat. The captain of the club, it would have been hoped that he could play a part in reversing that result this time around.
However, he will now miss the game due to suspension.
When asked about the booking, Erik ten Hag said that the incident could have been avoided but was confident that he had the squad to cope with the player's absence.
We have a squad. It shouldn't happen, but it happened.
We have to deal with it, the squad have to deal with it. I'm sure next week we will have a good team on the pitch.
Bruno Fernandes will be available for Manchester United's game against Bayern Munich on Tuesday evening, where his club will need a victory to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
He will serve his one-game domestic suspension when they travel to Anfield five days later.
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