Michael Carrick dropped Bruno Fernandes from Manchester United's starting lineup for Sunday's Premier League match against Bournemouth, and the manager insisted the decision had nothing to do with his captain's public criticism of his tactics earlier in the week.
Asked why Fernandes had been left out, Carrick dismissed any suggestion of a connection to the midfielder's comments following United's 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como, calling it instead a "pure football" decision.
Fernandes had publicly criticized Carrick's approach after the Como loss. "It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little bit of space in behind," the midfielder said. "I think sometimes we have to be more brave under pressure and trying to take a risk of getting that press very high and making them uncomfortable."
Carrick addressed those comments when they were put to him and did not rule out stripping Fernandes of the captaincy, saying, "I'll always do what's best for the football club." He also pushed back on the substance of Fernandes's critique, noting, "We actually half pressed man-to-man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that."
A Sharp Decline in Output
Fernandes was the Premier League's Player of the Season last term, a campaign in which he broke the competition's single-season assist record, previously held jointly by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne at 20. This season he has created just one goal for a teammate.
His chance creation has dropped from four per game to 2.3, with his expected assists figures showing a similar decline alongside the quality of the opportunities he has created. Last season, Fernandes produced an Opta-defined 'big chance' every 93 minutes on the pitch. This term, he has created just one 'big chance' across more than ten and a half hours of Premier League action.
Fernandes has scored in only two matches for United this season, netting a hat trick against newly promoted Ipswich Town and adding a second goal in a 4-0 win over Azerbaijan's Sabah FK.
Former United manager Ralf Rangnick offered his own view on the pressing debate at the heart of the dispute: "A little bit of pressing is like a little bit of pregnant."
