“A good thing…” Rio Ferdinand explains hidden Manchester United vs Rangers positive, but Bruno Fernandes disagrees

Rio Ferdinand has pointed out a hidden positive from Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Rangers during a crunch Europa League clash at Old Trafford.

Manchester United edged past Rangers in dramatic fashion as Bruno Fernandes’ injury-time strike secured a crucial Europa League victory on a tense night at Old Trafford.

The first half saw both teams approach the game with caution. Matthijs de Ligt thought he had put United ahead with a header from a corner, but the goal was ruled out due to a controversial foul in the build-up.

Amad and Joshua Zirkzee had opportunities to open the scoring, while Rangers created a few chances of their own. Despite these moments, the teams went into the break level at 0-0.

United took the lead early in the second half under unusual circumstances. Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland, a former United player, misjudged a Christian Eriksen corner, punching the ball into his own net to give the hosts an advantage.

Alejandro Garnacho nearly added a second, hitting the post with a powerful strike. But Rangers fought back, and Cyriel Dessers fired home a dramatic equaliser late on, seemingly stealing a point for the visitors.

However, in stoppage time, Lisandro Martínez delivered a perfect cross into the box, and Fernandes rose to the occasion with a brilliant finish to secure all three points for Rúben Amorim’s side.

Ferdinand explains hidden positive

United’s results of late have not given the club much in terms of positives, with these mainly coming in the form of individual good performances from those such as Amad and Altay Bayındır.

However, speaking to TNT Sports after the game, former United defender Rio Ferdinand feels as if he has found a new, more collective positive from the players that has not been present in recent weeks.

Reacting to the result, Ferdinand explained that although the game was by no means a perfect display, he was seeing effort and desire from players of his old club, which had been missing previously.

“I don’t think it was near a perfect performance, but you are seeing the effort [from Man United players],” Ferdinand explained.

“I have questioned effort and desire – I am not seeing that now, which is a good thing.”

Fernandes agrees with Ferdinand’s assessment

However, Fernandes did not quite agree with the suggestion that the side finally showed their effort and desire.

After the game, the club captain was asked if he felt that the team finally showed character to come back after conceding, but Fernandes explained that their push wasn’t about showing character but about needing to win.

“It’s not about the character,” he told TNT Sports. “We have to prove that in the 90 minutes, we can’t bring that out when we concede a goal. We concede a late goal, and we have to score a late goal.

“At this club, you need to win every game. You know that if you don’t win games here, it will be difficult. I hope our fans never get used to losing games. I hope they believe in this team to win games.”

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