Bruno Fernandes has sent a clear message to his Manchester United teammates after losing against Crystal Palace.
Manchester United endured a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon following a disappointing performance from Ruben Amorim’s side.
The Portuguese coach opted not to start a natural striker, leaving Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee on the bench. Instead, Kobbie Mainoo was deployed as a false nine and came close early on, striking the post, but his impact diminished as the game progressed.
United began on the front foot, but Palace remained dangerous on the counterattack and eventually took advantage in the second half.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice after the break, equaling Højlund’s Premier League goal tally this season, to secure the win for the visitors.
Fernandes sends clear message to United players
During the clash, Bruno Fernandes was operating in the deeper midfield role while Kobbie Mainoo, Amad and Alejandro Garnacho started in the frontline.
After minimal attacking threat, Amorim threw on Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee in the second half to try and turn things around.
They were unable to provide a spark, while those on the flanks produced minimal threat in the final third across the 90 minutes.
With just two shots on target throughout the game, it was another example of Amorim’s team being lacklustre in the final third, something Fernandes believes needs to improve within the squad.
Speaking afterwards to club media, the captain said: “We lacked a little bit of aggression to get into the final third and try something to score goals.
“We need the players we have in front to get more goals, to create more and we need to be able to take players on to get goals from that.
“We did have some chances but not as many as we should have.”
United planning no more incomings
It doesn’t look like much will change in the frontline with reports claiming that a loan move for Mathys Tel is off and United are not currently planning to add any more signings.
There are limited options for those forward areas and most of the players are not proven goalscorers, it feels difficult to predict where goals will come from.
Perhaps someone from the Academy will come through and provide an option, with Chido Obi Martin impressing since his arrival at the club.
But it seems like Amorim will have an even more difficult job until the end of the season.
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