Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has pinpointed the team’s inconsistency as the most frustrating thing about the just-concluded 2024/25 season.
United endured a miserable campaign that saw them finish in 15th position, having lost 18 games and amassed just 42 points.
The Red Devils finished the season trophyless after their loss to Tottenham Hotspur in last week’s Europa League final. For just the second time in 30 years, United will be without European football next term.
However, in their final Premier League game of the season, a 2-0 win over Aston Villa, United arguably played their best football under Ruben Amorim. Unfortunately, the performance came a tad bit too late.
After the final whistle, Fernandes spoke to the media [as quoted by Daily Mail] and revealed that he and his teammates were determined to play well as a way of thanking the fans for their relentless support, even under difficult circumstances.
Asked about showing a reaction after the Tottenham defeat, Fernandes answered, “It was not even just about Bilbao, it was about the full season.”
“It’s been very disappointing for everyone, but for the fans in the first place, and that’s what I tried to transmit in the before the game for my players. I was like ‘Just look around. Just look how special this place is, how lucky we are to be here.’”
“We had the full stadium today after a disappointing season after a disappointing Wednesday, they were again here, trying to lift us up, trying to be positive and giving a lot of energy to the team. And for us it was just trying to give a different image in this last game of the season. Obviously you play with a little bit more freedom, you have no pressure, because the position in the league wouldn’t change much.”
“But everyone played a brilliant game. We were very comfortable on the ball, very brave off the ball. And I think this is a brilliant response, but we have to bring this for the next season.”
On the display against Unai Emery’s men, Fernandes remarked, “This is exactly what I was telling to Cas[emiro] at the end of the game. I was like this is what frustrates me the most is that we can perform like this against one of the most consistent teams in the league.”
“This season Aston Villa is a very difficult team to play against, very well organised, very good players on the ball, and then you can pin them back, play, create chances, don’t give any chances away.”
“And it’s difficult to understand that we can’t do this through the season. But obviously I understand the pressure of playing for this club is massive and today we had a lot of freedom to go to the game and just enjoy it. We wanted to give something back, something different, show the fans that we want this so much to be better, to be more successful and everything.”
“But obviously we want this belief to keep going to the next season. And as the manager ends up saying, the bright days are coming.”
Fernandes finished the season with an impressive 19 goals and 20 assists across all competitions.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
