Bruno Fernandes: “Garnacho didn’t have the best attitude”

“He didn’t have the best attitude [at the beginning]”, said Bruno Fernandes, “and that’s why he didn’t get his chances until now”. After Manchester United’s 0-1 win over Real Sociedad in the Europa League, the midfielder spoke to the press and explained the reasons behind why Alejandro Garnacho, Manchester United’s explosive winger, hasn’t had many chances to show himself until now. “He is training better with a different attitude”, explained Fernandes, hinting at the fact that the player had not started off his career with the best mindset.

Garnacho, who scored the winner against the Spanish side, imitated his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, in his celebration, something he has done previously. The young winger arrived from Atlético Madrid in 2020 and had raised eyebrows while playing for Manchester United’s youth side.

It was a game Manchester United won, but they ultimately did not achieve their target of a 2-goal advantage and did not top the group. “Obviously our goal for today was winning the game by a two-goal difference, we knew we needed that. We played a great game, we tried everything, at the end we took more risks because it was needed to score the second goal.”

The player was philosophical when talking to BT Sport after the game, focussing on the positives: “But we won the game, it was a great win against a tough opponent, but obviously, we have not won the group, which was our goal, but it was a win. We know they could get more chances [second half], as we had fewer people defending.”

“We had to take the risk to have more people in front to score the goals”, Bruno said as he opened up on the game-plan from manager Eric ten Hag, “we didn’t concede, so another clean sheet, which is really important for us, and we keep going undefeated in games, so that is important for the confidence of the team.

Finally, Bruno Fernandes explained the tactical decision behind his change of position in the side’s tonight: ”I play wherever the coach needs me to play obviously. It’s not my position, but I try my best to help the team, and to be involved in a way that I can be helpful to the team.”

Manchester United will go into the Europa League play-offs and face a team that has dropped out of this year’s Champions League. Find out who their potential rivals are by clicking here.