Transfer News
Bruno Fernandes rates Man United’s Premier League title chances after Liverpool loss
Bruno Fernandes rates Man United’s Premier League title chances after Liverpool loss
Bruno Fernandes admits Manchester United are ‘not ready’ to win the Premier League this season.
After losing to Brighton and winning against Fulham last month, Erik ten Hag’s team was humiliated 3-0 at home by Liverpool on Sunday, giving them just three points from their first three Premier League games.
After United’s three Premier League games this season, Manchester City and Liverpool have already gained six points ahead of United.
In an effort to close the gap after finishing in eighth position in the Premier League the previous season, United spent little over £205 million on new players during the summer transfer window.
Fernandes thinks that a top-four finish is the “minimum” goal and that United is still incapable of winning the Premier League.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag reacts during the English Premier League soccer match of Manchester United against Liverpool
Erik ten Hag is already under pressure after two defeats in three Premier League games this season (EPA)
‘We don’t have to look at the results. What I said and the renewal was a long-term thing,’ Fernandes told DAZN.
‘I am perfectly aware that United is not ready, at this moment, to win the championship. We are fighting for it.
‘The minimum objective is to finish in the top four, which guarantees us the Champions League.
‘But we are aware that we still have a lot of things to improve in order to be able to dream of this bigger objective, which is what I and all of us want, which is to win the championship.’
In a separate interview with Sky Sports, Fernandes also defended Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo as their mistakes in midfield sparked the attack for all three of Liverpool’s goals at Old Trafford.
‘We started the game really well and got more chances. We have to be more clinical, this happened against Fulham too. They were clinical,’ Fernandes said.
‘The goals are always self-inflicted. You need to commit a mistake to give them the goal. We don’t need to be pointing fingers at everyone. that won’t help us now. When you concede a goal you can’t just point at one mistake. What’s the point in saying Casemiro lost the ball or Kobbie lost the ball? They lost the ball because they wanted to be brave. It’s part of football. Don’t make it individual.
‘Casemiro is more experienced than me. I don’t need to tell him anything, he knows what football is about. He’s played for the two best clubs in the world. Kobbie is an excellent kid. I want him to try more and do this because it’s part of his game. They are huge players for us and will keep being.
‘We don’t have to look at the past. We just have to make it different. We lost the game, congratulations to Liverpool, they were more clinical. I don’t look at the stats but the game was tight.’