“Raging” Roy Keane rips into Fernandes over “circus act” assist record chase
“Raging” Roy Keane rips into Fernandes over “circus act” assist record chase Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has torn into Bruno Fernandes and his teammates for prioritising the Premier League assist record over victory against Nottingham Forest. History maker Fernandes has enjoyed a superb season, playing a crucial role in United’s qualification for the Champions League after a two-year absence. Restored to his preferred playmaking position by Michael Carrick, he has kicked up a new level since the turn of the year and is arguably playing the best football of his career.
The Portugal international ran the show for United yet again over the weekend, helping them to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest. Beyond the win, the game was even more special for Fernandes because he hit 20 assists, matching Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry for the Premier League record. He could have gone beyond them and clear at the top, though, considering how many gilt-edged chances he carved out for his teammates, only for most to be wasted.
When Bryan Mbeumo finally put away one of Fernandes’ chances, the relief on the players’ faces was obvious as they rushed over to their captain to celebrate with him and offer their congratulations. Fernandes was honoured with a gift by Omar Berrada at the full-time whistle, while he also drew special praise from Carrick. That said, not everyone’s happy about what he’s done.
Keane took exception to it on the latest Stick to Football podcast episode. Keane’s rant The Irishman said, “I think what I heard at United at the weekend… honestly, I was raging with it. The whole chat about his assists.
And everyone’s talking about assists, he did an interview after the match, after the game, and I was watching him and everyone was talking about assists and even the players were… It was all, the game was about his assists. ” “That’s the whole talk. ” “After the game he got interviewed and he said in his interview, the captain of Man United, he said, ‘Yeah, a few times I probably should’ve…’ He said this himself, ‘I should have shot but, uh, I made them passes’.