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Wayne Rooney has questioned Bruno Fernandes’ defensive contribution during Manchester United’s Champions League clash with Roma, arguing that the club captain should have covered for a teammate who had moved forward.
United found themselves two goals down inside the opening 12 minutes at Old Trafford, with Roma exploiting weaknesses in the home side’s defensive organisation.
The second goal came from the penalty spot after Ayden Heaven handled the ball while attempting to stop an effort. Donyell Malen converted the kick to extend Roma’s lead.
Reacting to the opening-half performance on Amazon Prime, Rooney focused on Fernandes’ positioning during Roma’s first goal. He argued that the midfielder should have dropped back when Diogo Dalot advanced.
The former United captain said Fernandes had a responsibility to protect the defensive space and support his teammates, particularly given his leadership role.
“For the first goal, if you’re playing in a system, when Dalot goes higher, Bruno should go into that position.
“He has to run back, you’re the captain of the football club, run back and take responsibility.
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“You’re a team and you need to play as a team. If a teammate is out of position, even if you don’t want to be there or run back, you have to run back,” Rooney said.
He also described United’s performance before the break as being “shot to bits”, expressing disappointment with the team’s inability to contain the visitors.
Fernandes had a chance to pull one back from the penalty spot in the second half but initially failed to score. An encroachment infringement, however, resulted in the kick being retaken, and the Portuguese midfielder converted his second attempt.
The goal gave United a route back into the match, although they still needed further scores to overturn the deficit.
Matheus Cunha eventually became central to the turnaround, finding the net twice in the space of three minutes to put United ahead.
The forward was later dismissed after receiving two yellow cards, one of which followed his celebration in the stands. United nevertheless managed to defend their lead despite playing with 10 men.
Rooney acknowledged the improvement in the team’s second-half display and praised the players for their determination in completing the comeback.
