Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes reportedly asked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to make a tactical change at half-time in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Atalanta in the Champions League.
The Red Devils trailed Atalanta by two goals on Wednesday and needed a change of formation to get themselves back into the game.
Goals from Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral had put the Serie A side 2-0 ahead at Old Trafford, before the hosts mounted a comeback in the second half, with Cristiano Ronaldo ultimately scoring the winner nine minutes from time.
According to The Sun, Fernandes and Ronaldo told their Man United teammates of their disappointment about their first-half performance, with the vice-captain going as far as demanding a tactical tweak.
The report also claimed that Fernandes specifically told Solskjaer he should be allowed to drop deeper to have a bigger influence on the game.
The tweak appeared to work eventually, as it was Fernandes’ pass from midfield that split Atalanta’s defence to set up Marcus Rashford’s goal just eight minutes after the restart.
The Old Trafford side were level with 15 minutes left as Harry Maguire blasted home from close range, before Ronaldo capped the comeback with a thumping header to send United top of Group F.
The midfielder was eventually awarded the man-of-the-match award after a stellar second-half performance from the Man United star.
The result would have eased the pressure on Solskjaer, whose side had lost to Leicester City last weekend.
After the game last week Fernandes acknowledged that both players and coaches had to improve if United were to be taken seriously as title contenders.
“We have a lot to improve on and the coach also knows there has to be some improvement at their end, but that is part of football,” he said after the game.
“Every day we are learning something new. But football is the present, and it’s the now.
“We fully support him. He’s our manager, we follow his ideas and believe in them.”
United face Liverpool this Sunday in what will be a must-win for the Red Devils to avoid them dropping further down the table. https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1451191100257890330
