Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has called for a response from his teammates following a 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener. The defeat marked United's fourth loss in five matches, leaving the team under pressure ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash at Burnley.
Despite the result, Fernandes highlighted the fighting spirit shown by the side, particularly after trailing 4-1 before a late Casemiro double. 'The positive is that the spirit, the fighting spirit, was there. We tried,' said the 29-year-old. 'It wasn't still enough to win the game or to get something from the game. But at periods, the team showed great spirit. But we have to do it more often and for 90 minutes.'
Manager Erik ten Hag had 12 senior players unavailable for the match, with only three centre-backs, including veteran Jonny Evans, fit to face Bayern. Fernandes stressed the need for players to look at themselves individually. 'I think what everyone has to do is to do their own job and look at themselves first. That's what I do as a player, not as a captain - as a person.'
The Portuguese midfielder also defended goalkeeper Andre Onana, whose error allowed Leroy Sane's shot to squirm through his grasp for Bayern's opener. 'Andre is a great goalkeeper. He will keep giving us a lot of points, a lot of saves. He hasn't to take any blame. We have to take the blame as a team.'
Fernandes pointed to the positives, including scoring three goals away from home against a top side. 'I think no-one would expect us to come into Bayern and score three goals. It wasn't enough but we were not playing against some bad team - we were playing one of the best teams in the world.' He added: 'We will get through this and we will get the results back.'
