Bruno Fernandes has revealed the real reason behind Manchester United’s FA Cup loss against Fulham, and it’s a problem that Rúben Amorim cannot change.
Manchester United’s FA Cup journey ended in disappointment as they were beaten by Fulham on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. United started positively but struggled to create clear-cut chances, while Fulham looked dangerous on the break. Just before half-time, Calvin Bassey punished poor defending from a corner, firing the visitors into the lead.
Rúben Amorim responded with changes, bringing on Alejandro Garnacho and Victor Lindelöf at the break, with Christian Eriksen dropping deeper. However, Fulham continued to control possession and limit United’s attacking opportunities.
With half an hour to play, Amorim introduced Chido Obi and Casemiro, replacing Eriksen and Rasmus Højlund, and the switch paid off as Bruno Fernandes drilled home a low strike to bring United level. United pushed hard for a winner in the final stages and extra time, with Obi and Garnacho both coming close, but Fulham held firm to take the game to penalties.
Both teams converted their first three spot-kicks before Bernd Leno saved Lindelöf’s effort, swinging the momentum in Fulham’s favour. Joshua Zirkzee then saw his penalty kept out, sealing United’s exit from the competition and sending Fulham through to the quarter-finals.
Why United lost vs Fulham
Speaking to the media in the aftermath of the loss, Fernandes explained that a big reason why United failed to convert their chances as the tie went on was because the side simply did not have the energy to do so.
“We were out of legs, most of our players were out of legs, and we couldn’t keep the ball enough,” Fernandes explained.
“But we still had some very good transitions, and from those transitions, we had very good chances that we could have scored, but we didn’t.”
Further, the club captain was pushed for why his side was out of legs, to which he explained that the fact United have so many players out injured means the team cannot afford to change, which is the deeper reason for the side’s tiredness and why they fell to defeat against Fulham.
“It’s just tiredness from the game, and from the moment, obviously, we don’t have many players to play,” Fernandes said. “We’ve been playing most of the games with the same players all the time, and then it’s 120 minutes, you know, like, it’s been tough.”
Amorim cannot change this
Unfortunately for Amorim, United’s players being tired from the number of minutes they are being forced to play is not something he can change.
Two of his most important players, Amad and Lisandro Martínez, have been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to freak injuries that were completely beyond his control.
Similarly, in the middle of the park, United are without Toby Collyer and Kobbie Mainoo, who could be influential in games such as the Fulham game.
United also chose to get rid of three first-team attackers during the winter window, with Marcus Rashford, Antony, and Ethan Wheatley all departing on loan, while no one was recruited to replace them.
This has left Amorim with only Garnacho, Zirkzee, and Rasmus Højlund as his only available forward options.
There is little chance that Amorim will be able to rotate his tired players unless he takes a significant gamble on youth players such as Obi or Jack Fletcher for the remainder of the campaign.
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