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Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes have held clear-the-air talks at Manchester United’s training ground ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea.
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Fernandes was dropped to the bench for the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth after publicly questioning Carrick’s tactics during the 4-1 Champions League loss to Como.
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Carrick is reportedly satisfied that the tension between him and the Portuguese midfielder has been resolved, with Fernandes now expected to be in contention for the Chelsea encounter.
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Manchester United’s hierarchy has given Carrick another opportunity to improve the team’s fortunes despite considering alternative candidates following the club’s poor start to the season.
October 28, (THEWILL) – Manchester United head coach, Michael Carrick, and captain, Bruno Fernandes, have held clear-the-air talks before the team’s trip to Chelsea on Saturday.
Fernandes was left out of the starting line-up in the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Sunday after he criticised Michael Carrick’s tactics in the 4-1 loss to Como in the Champions League last week.
He explained the reasons for not playing him in the encounter, as he was left on the bench for the duration of the game.
“Picking the team is always a difficult decision. We’ve got to make what we feel is the right one for the team to try to get the performance we want”, Carrick said.
According to reports in England on Wednesday, Carrick and Fernandes met at United’s training ground for an open and frank discussion, with the head coach satisfied that the animosity between them is over, although it is not known if the midfielder apologised for his public criticism.
The individual meeting between Carrick and Fernandes was in addition to an all-squad meeting, where there was a renewed determination from all the players and staff that performances have to improve immediately.
The Portuguese midfielder questioned the team’s decision not to press Como in the encounter.
“It’s a decision from the staff not to press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little space in behind and try to get the ball in the first moment, to wait for them, to give them the ball.
“But sometimes when you give too much the ball to these teams they get confident, they have so many bodies behind the ball that make you run a lot, make people get frustrated, and then obviously when you recover the ball the legs are, and the brain, much more difficult to make it work”, Fernandes stated.
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Fernandes is now expected to be in contention for the clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after the face-to-face talks with Carrick.
In a related development, Michael Carrick has been given another chance to turn the club’s fortunes around following their poor start to the season.
Manchester United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, and chief executive, Omar Berrada, met at the club’s training ground on Monday, and it is understood they had already been considering alternatives for the head coach role.
However, The board decided that Carrick should be given another opportunity to end the poor run at Old Trafford.
Manchester United will face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon in the early kick-off clash.
