Manchester United finally had something to celebrate on Tuesday night, beating Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford in the Champions League.
Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot, while Matheus Cunha struck twice to secure a much-needed victory.
After the match, though, the United captain wasn’t pretending one good result had suddenly fixed everything.
Speaking to TNT Sports Brazil, the Portuguese midfielder gave a pretty open assessment of what’s been going wrong at the club. He admitted there are several problems to sort out, with confidence and the mental toll of poor results playing a big part.
And judging by his comments, those problems have been building for quite some time.
Bruno Fernandes admits Manchester United have several problems
Asked what it means to represent United through difficult periods, especially after almost seven years at the club, Bruno started by reflecting on the victory.
“It’s a privilege to be here. Regardless of all the moments we might go through, good or bad, they’re part of football and they’ll always be there.”
“I hope to have more good moments than bad ones. Today was a special night for us, especially in the second half.”
“Obviously, getting back to winning ways after such a long time is special for us. Doing it here at home, with our fans, in the way we did, was very special. We’re really happy with the result.”
The conversation then moved on to something United supporters have been asking themselves for a while. Why has it been so difficult for this group of players to deliver consistently? Is it a question of attitude, responsibility or something else?
Bruno wasn’t interested in pointing to one convenient explanation.
“No, it’s difficult when the situation is like this. There isn’t just one problem, there’s more than one. There are many things to improve, many things we need to do differently.”
“Unfortunately for us, this has been happening over a long period of time, which makes things more difficult.”
“We know nobody is at this club to avoid winning. Nobody comes to this club not to win, and everyone believes that when we sign for this club and represent it, we’re doing it for something bigger.”
“Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case in recent years. It’s been difficult. There have been some really tough moments because of how hard it’s been to reach the positions we want to reach, be where we want to be and fight for the trophies we want to fight for.”
“But obviously, as Matheus said, wearing this shirt is a huge responsibility. We have to see it as a privilege, because there are so many players who dream of being here one day.”
“We have the privilege of experiencing it today, and we have to go through the good moments in the same way we go through the bad ones.”
Bruno isn’t suggesting the players don’t understand what representing Manchester United means. His point is that knowing the responsibility doesn’t automatically make the problems disappear. And he clearly doesn’t believe there’s a quick fix.
‘We end up mentally battered’
Bruno was then asked again whether he’d managed to identify what had been going wrong in recent matches. This time, he pointed directly to confidence.
“It’s a question of confidence. At this club, it’s difficult, it’s difficult when the results are negative, when things are going badly.”
“There are many factors outside the dressing room, outside the players and the staff, which make the club’s performances and what we can do on the pitch more difficult. It affects a lot of players. Some deal with it better, others deal with it worse.”
“But obviously, I think we also create a lot of things, we create a lot of expectations for ourselves. And then, when things don’t work out, we end up mentally battered by the frustration of not being able to give the club what we believe we’re genuinely capable of giving.”
In the end, Tuesday’s victory over Roma will certainly help the mood around Old Trafford. Bruno got his goal, Cunha got two, and United finally gave their supporters a Champions League win to enjoy.
But the captain’s comments suggest the problems run considerably deeper than a few disappointing performances.
For now, at least, they’ve got a result to build on. And after everything Bruno has described, that probably matters quite a lot.
