Carragher: Carrick Dropped Fernandes to Embarrass Him

Jamie Carragher believes Manchester United manager Michael Carrick deliberately left captain Bruno Fernandes on the bench during the team's defeat to Bournemouth as a tactic to "embarrass him in front of the supporters." Fernandes was notably absent from the starting lineup following a post-match outburst after United's Champions League loss to Como.

This marked the first time Fernandes had been dropped for non-injury reasons since Carrick similarly excluded him against Villarreal in November 2021. The decision, however, did not yield the desired result, as Manchester United was dominated by Bournemouth. The midfielder remained on the bench even as the team fell behind, with Carrick opting for other substitutions before the final whistle.

"I don't think he was ever going to bring him on," Carragher stated on Sky Sports. "It was a decision to just leave him on the bench and almost try and embarrass him a little bit in front of the supporters, I don't know."

Carrick, speaking after the match, was reluctant to elaborate on the decision, stating only that Fernandes was fit and available, and the team selection was made for "pure footballing reasons." He added, "There's always times when you're trying to make decisions that make a difference."

Before the match, Carragher had suggested that Fernandes' omission could potentially benefit the team and some individual players. "He's Man United's best player, PFA Player of the Year, but Michael Carrick had to make the stand," Carragher said. "But, once you've put him there (on the bench) you need a result. You're hoping, could this (the benching) bring us together as a group because there's no doubt about it, even though he's the best player there will be a lot of people who don't like playing with him at Man United because he's permanently throwing his arms up at people."

Fernandes himself had been critical of the coaching staff after the Como match, questioning tactical decisions regarding pressing and possession. "It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little space in behind and try to get the ball in the first moment, to wait for them, to give them the ball," Fernandes explained. "But sometimes when you give too much the ball to these teams they get confident, they have so many bodies behind the ball that make you run a lot, make people get frustrated, and then obviously when you recover the ball the legs are, and the brain, much more difficult to make it work."