Manchester United were able to draw 2-2 with Bournemouth in the Premier League, during which Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes had a "heated exchange" with goalkeeper Andre Onana and manager Erik ten Hag.
After the game, Erik ten Hag tried to downplay the incident, but there was another fire on the Internet - teenager Alejandro Garnacho liked two posts in a row that criticized coach Erik ten Hag for looking for him as a scapegoat, even if he later canceled the like, which has been screenshotted by fans and the media going viral. With repeated frictions with his players and suspected discord with the manager, has Erik ten Hag lost the support of Manchester United's dressing room?
Fernandes had a heated verbal altercation with Onana, and Ten Hag played in the style of a captain
Manchester United was a guest at Bournemouth, only 7 minutes into the game, captain Bruno Fernandes had already argued fiercely with goalkeeper Andre Onana on whether the goal kick should be "long or short", Andre Onana insisted on his opinion, Erik ten Hag on the sidelines saw this, asked Bruno Fernandesk to make a little, but was rejected by the Portuguese, Erik ten Hag scolded in response, Bruno Fernandes waved his fingers left and right to show disagreement.
Asked after the game about Bruno Fernandes' lively performances, Erik ten Hag said: "Two goals, very creative, he injected a lot of energy into the team. Commenting on Bruno Fernandes' 'heated conversation' with team-mate Andre Onana and him, Erik ten Hag said: "We're all happy that he's shown captain style and injected energy into the team. We were all disappointed, he expressed that feeling", and pointed out, "We have to win, we have lost too many unnecessary points in the last few games. Erik ten Hag is once again using language arts to try to defuse a potential crisis, but it can't stop the criticism and PR disaster on social media.
Alejandro Garnacho was substituted at half-time
Manchester United conceded the first goal against Bournemouth in the 16th minute, it was teenager Alejandro Garnacho who took possession of the ball near the centre circle and was intercepted by a Bournemouth player to take advantage of the opportunity to counter-attack and open the scoring. However, he made up for it later, and on 31 minutes he crossed from the right flank, and after the ball bounced high on the right side of the six-yard box, it was equalised by Bruno Fernandes' quick shot. Bournemouth took the lead again on 36 minutes thanks to a goal from Justin Kluivert as United trailed 1-2 at half-time.
Alejandro Garnacho was substituted at half-time with Amad Diallo on the side, and on 65 minutes Bournemouth players were penalised for handball in the penalty area, and Bruno Fernandes scored twice to help United level 2-2 and snatch a point. After the game, Erik ten Hag complained about "the young players in the squad making mistakes": "You can see we have a lot of potential, and at the same time we are very young players, yes, they make mistakes. They have proven to be able to play against the best teams at the highest level, but they have to show consistently and that is often the next step in the development of young players. Erik ten Hag pointed out why he brought on Alejandro Garnacho at half-time: "We have to tinker with the right flank, we didn't play well, we gave the opponent a vacancy, we had to come on the bench. ”
Mark Goldbridge, a well-known British Manchester United fan and YouTuber, blasted Erik ten Hag in a series of posts on social media X (formerly twitter), saying in the second half: "Alejandro Garnacho is one of our best players of the season, he played poorly in the first half, but he was replaced at half-time and blamed him for the problem was a joke. A lot of players are playing a lot worse than him every week and they're still on the pitch. ”
After Erik ten Hag's post-match interview, Mark Goldbridge lashed out again: "Erik ten Hag tactfully blamed Alejandro Garnacho in his post-match press conference...... He was clearly afraid of offending those high-paid players. ”
Alejandro Garnacho liked Mark Goldbridge's two posts with his personal official verified X account, and fans took screenshots after discovering it, and Alejandro Garnacho later canceled the like.
The 19-year-old Argentinian also uploaded a photo of himself hanging down after the match, with only an open mouth to show surprise to express his frustration. Alejandro Garnacho has made 42 appearances for United in all competitions this season, scoring nine goals and providing four assists, and he has started 30 consecutive games in all competitions since the start of November, with an impressive attendance rating for the injury-plagued side. However, Erik ten Hag said after the game that "Alejandro Garnacho did not train in midweek and only trained the day before the game", which makes it doubtful that Alejandro Garnacho may have suffered a slight injury or was not in full form before the game.