PAUL SCHOLES has DEFENDED Bruno Fernandes in the wake of Manchester United’s disastrous defeat at Liverpool.
That’s after the midfielder was singled out for embarrassing shift in the 7-0 loss at Anfield.
United were blown away by Jurgen Klopp’s men on Sunday as they shipped a record seven goals without reply.
But stand-in skipper Fernandes received the most flak after a ludicrous display on Merseyside.
The Portuguese playmaker was first branded a “clown” for an embarrassing dive.
And Fernandes then got into a bizarre scuffle with the assistant referee, appearing to push him after a disagreement.
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The final straw for fans and pundits, including Gary Neville, was Fernandes’ “disgraceful” plea to be subbed OFF, throwing a wobbly when he was ignored by boss Erik ten Hag.
However, former United star Scholes believes Fernandes is being unfairly singled out for a shocking team performance.
He reckons the No10 struggled after being made to play in a wide position instead of his usual central role.
And Scholes also believes United should not be starting striker Wout Weghorst in every game, with the Burnley loanee deemed “too defensive.”
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Scholes said: “I actually feel sorry for Fernandes when he’s played.
“He’s been pushed out to many positions to do a job for the team, he was on the left today, he’s been on the right, he’s played through the middle, he has been a little bit all over the place.
“You can’t say any of the players performed the way they should have done but I thought he was especially poor today, it wasn’t his greatest afternoon.
“But I think there are a couple of players in that team that when it comes to big games like this, I don’t think they’re quite at the level.
“[With Weghorst] you’re talking about a United No10 or centre-forward, he’s in the team to be defensive. He’s the one that runs about and everybody likes playing with him.
“But quality-wise as well you’ve got to have a certain level of quality to play for United… it’s not there.
“I don’t want to be too disrespectful to the team because they’ve been great, they’ve just won a trophy.
“That is a really freakish day. I think they’ve got the experience, the character, the quality in the team to recover from that.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
