Phil McNulty Q&A: 'I had sympathy for Fernandes'published at 12:02 British Summer Time 30 September
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Ricky: Hi Phil, sorry but to dismiss the idea that the red card had no impact is laughable. How many times do you see teams come out after a poor first half and turn a game around especially when they are only 1-0 down. Also the red card is arguably one of the worst sending off in recent years, at worst a yellow if that; VAR yet again proving not fit for purpose and overall highlights again the poor level of officiating in this country. All that said I have no words of defence for the overall United performance especially that first half. ETH probably needs to go as I’m not sure the players want to play for him let alone the shirt and the fans.
Phil: Hi, Ricky. You are more than welcome to disagree and thank you for doing it in a constructive way. It’s what the Q&A is here for.
I took the strongest issue with Ten Hag’s suggestion it “changed the game”. It made United’s task even harder but it did not “change the game”. United were being outclassed well before Fernandes was sent off. In fact they were outclassed from the first whistle.
I actually agreed with the red card but certainly had sympathy for Fernandes, who acted in a bit of desperation having slipped he was a bit unlucky.
As for United, this was as bad as I’ve seen under Ten Hag. No discernible strategy or game plan and a complete lack of discipline.