Having missed a crucial penalty in the most dreadful way possible against Aston Villa on Saturday, Manchester United midfielder spoke up about it on social media.
The Portuguese stepped on to take an injury-time penalty with his side trailing 1-0, and lashed the ball into the crowd at the Stretford End.
Usually a very reliable and clinical penalty taker, Bruno Fernandes has been the chief penalty taker for United ever since he entered the fray in England.
However, some people expected Cristiano Ronaldo to take over the mantle after making his move back to United from Juventus, but that wasn’t the case against Villa.
“Nobody is more frustrated and disappointed than me for missing the penalty and the consequent defeat. I’ve always assumed my responsibilities and I’ve always embraced them under pressure in moments like this. Today, I failed.
Criticism and contrasting opinions are a big part of football. I’ve learned to live with it, even using them to drive me on, and I consider it all a very important part of my commitment to never stop trying to improve and to become the best player I can possibly be, for me and the team,”
the 27-year-old said.
Despite having 28 registered chances to score a goal, United’s forward line and midfield failed to threaten Villa at any stage of the game. Their inability to beat their defensive line was couple by some horrid decision-making from Mason Greenwood, ultimately keeping the game 0-0 until the 88th minute.
Kortney Hause dashed home a powerful header towards the near post when Villa received a corner and established a late lead for his side, who missed some big chances earlier in the game. Quite funnily, it was Hause again at the other end of the pitch conceding a big opportunity for United as Fernandes’ cross found his hand in the opposite penalty area a minute later.
Manchester United will be hosting Villarreal next up in the Champions League and have a serious line of fixtures coming up in the Premier League, that could ultimately decide Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future at the club.
They have now lost three games already this season, to Young Boys in the Champions League, to West Ham United in the League Cup and now to Villa in the league.
