Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick has explained the issues Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could have with star player Bruno Fernandes.
The Portugal international has been a big hit since moving to Man Utd from Sporting Lisbon last January, instantly settling in to life in the Premier League and becoming a hugely important part of Solskjaer’s side.
However, Fernandes has ended up playing a lot of football this season, with United often quite over-reliant on him at times, and Chadwick admits it’s now looking difficult for Solskjaer to drop him as he wants to be playing every game.
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This is far from ideal when the Red Devils could perhaps have done with resting him over the weekend ahead of their Europa League semi-final clash with Roma on Thursday.
Paul Pogba was benched for the Leeds game instead, and Chadwick noticed that Fernandes didn’t even seem happy with the idea of being subbed off later in the game.
“It’s a tough one. It’s hard for Ole to keep his talisman and most effective and best player happy,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside.
“He’s not someone who’s easy to drop. Even yesterday it seemed like he was going to come off for the last two minutes at Elland Road, and he gave the bench a bit of a look and then it ended up being Fred coming off!
“He wants to play every game, but he’s probably not had the effect we would’ve liked (against Leeds). Having said that he doesn’t always have to play well in order to provide that moment of inspiration.”
Chadwick added that it was a disappointing performance from MUFC overall, though he was pleased with what he saw from youngster Mason Greenwood again.
“I think the last result we were expecting was a 0-0 draw, but it was a stale game really,” Chadwick said. “Leeds didn’t offer much, United were the better team, slightly. But they didn’t really create enough to win the game.
“Wan-Bissaka came forward well, he seems more confident now, driving with the ball, getting past opponents and getting the ball into the striker. Mason Greenwood has found his form to an extent, obviously he didn’t get on the score sheet, but looked the most likely. He was a thorn in Leeds’ side and looked like he might make something happen.
“Lindelof hit some really good passes, but the creative players couldn’t really unlock the door. Bruno Fernandes cut a frustrated figure, he couldn’t really get in between the lines and influence the game. It was a real disappointment in terms of what we’d expect from a United-Leeds game.”