Manchester United will battle Burnley tonight, December 30, 2021, without the club’s talisman, Bruno Fernandes. He has been suspended ahead of the game after receiving five yellow cards so far this season.
The 27-year-old Portuguese attacking midfielder received the first yellow card of the season on August 22, 2021, in the Premier League game between Manchester United and Southampton.
On August 29, 2021, Bruno Fernandes received another yellow card but this time around it was in the Premier League game between United and Wolves. The Portuguese football star entered into the referee’s book again against Liverpool on October 24, 2021.
Bruno Fernandes’ last two bookings this season came on November 28, 2021, against Chelsea, and on December 27, 2021, against Newcastle United. Hence, he would have to watch Manchester United vs Burnley game from the stand.
Before it was confirmed that he would not play in the Premier League game which will kick off at 21:15 later tonight, Bruno Fernandes has not missed any league game this season.
So far in the 2021-2022 season, Fernandes has played a total of 17 Premier League games in which he has scored 5 goals and provided three assists. While in all competitions this season, the Portuguese football star has played 23 games in which he has scored 5 goals and provided 9 assists.
Aside from Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United will be playing Burnley tonight without Victor Lindelof who is still battling to recover from the dreaded coronavirus. Also, Paul Pogba is still not available for Manchester United, thanks to his thigh problem.
Ahead of the Premier League game, the coach of Manchester United, Ralf Rangnick defended his defenders who were blamed for the 1-1 draw they suffered at the hands of Newcastle United less than three days ago.
Manchester United’s center-back duo Harry Maguire and Raphael were blamed for the draw but coach Ralf Rangnick stressed that no player at the club should be singled out for the inconsistency of the team.
Rangnick said: “I mean, I don’t think I mean, Raphael hasn’t played for the last five or six weeks, and even before the Tottenham game, he was injured.
“So in total in the last three months, he hasn’t played that many games. Yes, he made a mistake before the first goal that we conceded. But apart from that, I think he was OK.
“I wouldn’t say that he was outstanding, and the same with Harry, but they did OK.
“Our problem was, again, that we allowed too many transitional moments, and this is not only a problem of the center of the center-backs, but it’s also a problem of the whole team that it starts up front. And you can speak also about the role of the No 10 in that kind of formation.
“So I don’t think it makes sense to speak about the individual performance of players. We need to get better as a team.”
If Manchester United beat Burnley tonight, the Premier League giants could move to the 6th spot from the 7th spot with 31 points in 18 games, pending the outcome of other league games.
🗣 "I am performing and giving assists but people say 'yeah but he's not scoring goals'"
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 6, 2021
Bruno Fernandes says he has adapted to play in a more deeper role for Manchester United but accepts he will be criticised if his stats dry up. pic.twitter.com/Ki6MnecGIC
