Fernandes hopeful of seeing Man Utd come good again
Bruno Fernandes believes Manchester United’s recent woes have left them “not in a positive moment”, but he is hoping to take centre-stage for Portugal in the Nations League.
Fernandes has gone 12 games without finding the back of the net for United, his longest goal drought since he arrived at Old Trafford back in January 2020.
The Red Devils have failed to win their last five games across all competitions, with their last outing ending in a goalless draw against Aston Villa before the international break.
Erik ten Hag’s side have managed eight points from their opening seven Premier League games, their fewest at this stage of a league campaign since 1989-90 (seven).
They have also failed to score in each of their last three Premier League games, equalling their worst run without a goal in the competition under Ten Hag’s stewardship.
Fernandes is now preparing for Portugal’s Nations League clash with Poland on Saturday, with the midfielder hoping to continue the Selecao’s perfect start in Group A1.
“I will talk about myself personally. It changes a lot because the space is different. This is not a positive moment at Manchester, we are not winning games,” Fernandes said.
“The space for the national team is completely different. It’s a space where, in the last few days, I have felt very comfortable.
“I have felt that I can enjoy my football, and I think that in all the games we play we are going to win, and we have all benefited from what we’ve come to do, and I’m in my country, I speak my language, I have better food. All of this is connected with psychology.
“But the important thing is to know how to differentiate the moments, the places, but above all to make sure that what has been negative, try to pass that on to the positive, regardless of the club or the national team.
“I try to give my best in all the games I play, regardless of the club or the national team I’m representing. My will and my effort will never change what I want to bring to the game.”
Fernandes was part of the Portugal side that won the Nations League in 2019, playing 81 minutes in their 1-0 win over the Netherlands in the final.
Many of the players that started the final in Porto remain in the current squad, though head coach Roberto Martinez has shifted to a more youthful approach since.
While Portugal suffered a quarter-final exit to France at Euro 2024, Fernandes is confident the current crop of talent can replicate their Nations League success from five years ago.
“The first difference is that we haven’t reached the final four yet. I think all the teams were strong, regardless of the names that came through here and whether they won or stopped winning. I think Portugal has always had a strong team,” Fernandes said.
“If we look at the history of our country and football in our country, we had great names and players who always represented the team at the highest level and at the level that is required.
“There are times when you go further and others when you fall by the wayside, others when you win, as happened in 2016 and 2019.
“This team is hungry to repeat this achievement in 2019 because no Portuguese team enters any competition to not win.
“Everyone knows that our ambition is to always win and to win every game, so our ambition now is to win against Poland because we are a team that respects very much what we are going to find as opponents, because we know that our final objective will only come if we manage to win every game.”
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