Roy Keane Slams Erik Ten Hag for His Comments on Bruno Fernandes’ Leadership – News18

Former Irish footballer Roy Keane has lashed out at Erik Ten Hag after the Manchester United boss hailed Bruno Fernandes for his display of leadership during the last Premier League fixture against Everton. The Red Devils had the last laugh in the away game, securing a comprehensive 3-0 victory. A few minutes after the second half began, Manchester United were awarded a penalty owing to an untimely challenge on Anthony Martial by Ashley Young inside the box. Despite being the team’s regular penalty taker, Fernandes asked Marcus Rashford to take the spot-kick. The United captain perhaps wanted to boost the confidence of Rashford, who has been going through a lean patch for quite some time now.

The English striker, however, made no mistake this time and sent the ball into the net comfortably past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. It was the second goal for Manchester United after Alejandro Garnacho gave them an early lead in the first half with a stunning overhead kick. Anthony Martial made it 3-0 in the 75th minute by scoring his first goal since May.

Coming out of the match with a crucial three points, Erik Ten Hag showered immense praises on Bruno Fernandes for his call to let Marcus Rashford take the penalty. Speaking about how much Rashford needed the goal against Everton, Ten Hag said, “A lot. You see also how great a captain Bruno is to sense that his team-mate needed that goal. Bruno will net definitely, but he has confidence in Rashy who is a very good penalty-taker.”

The remarks, however, did not go down well with Roy Keane. The former Manchester United captain feels Ten Hag should be more worried about the club’s current position in the Premier League table rather than giving importance to such things.

During a recent interaction with Sky Sports, Keane said, “He (Teg Hag) is giving toffee out there to Bruno for passing on the ball for the penalty. Absolute bloody rubbish. Absolute rubbish coming out with that. Manchester United are sixth now. If you went back a few years, if you were sixth you’d be embarrassed.”

The victory over Everton was Manchester United’s fifth win in the last six Premier League fixtures. However, Keane feels the Red Devils have “a long way to go” in the campaign as they have been competing with some strong teams like “Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal.”

In their next appearance, Manchester United will take on Galatasaray for a Champions League game on November 29 away from home.