26 November 2023 , 20:25
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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was full of praise for captain Bruno Fernandes after he let Marcus Rashford take a penalty in their 3-0 win over Everton.
United were 1-0 up when they were awarded a spot-kick following a VAR review and Fernandes, who is their regular penalty taker, opted to give the ball to Rashford instead. Rashford then scored from the spot, with the goal just his second in all competitions this season.
Speaking after the game, Ten Hag hailed Fernandes for giving Rashford the penalty. The Dutchman felt it showed "how great a captain Bruno is", with the 29-year-old having previously come in for criticism over his leadership.
When asked how much Rashford needed the goal, Ten Hag told Sky Sports : "A lot. You see also how great a captain Bruno is to sense that his team-mate needed that goal. Bruno will net definitely, but he has the confidence in Rashy who is a very good penalty taker.
"Take that ball and take your confidence. As a team you need that leadership. You back each other, you cover each other and you give each other confidence because you need it to get a successful season."
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Fernandes, meanwhile, explained: " I felt that Marcus needed a bit of confidence, needed goals. Marcus is an excellent penalty-taker too. I'm 100 per cent sure that he could score the penalty. It's not about who takes it, it's about scoring the penalty and Marcus did it perfectly.
Bruno Fernandes gave Marcus Rashford the penalty to build his team-mate's confidence (Paul Greenwood/REX/Shutterstock)"Obviously strikers, wingers, they want to score goals, they need to score goals, that's part of their game and it gives you a boost. After the penalty, Marcus was unstoppable – he could take on everyone. I think sometimes you need this chance, this opportunity to get confidence back.
"But Marcus has been great for us. Obviously last season he was amazing, so everyone's expectations for this season were higher. It's just about getting his goals back and everyone will stay say that he is world-class again."
Marcus Rashford scored after Bruno Fernandes let him take a penalty against Everton (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)Fernandes was given the captaincy at the start of the season after Ten Hag decided to strip Harry Maguire of the armband. And the Dutchman has previously been forced to defend that decision, stating earlier this month he "doesn't understand" why Fernandes' captaincy credentials have been questioned.
"I don't understand why because everyone has their mistakes, no one is perfect," he told TNT Sports after United's 1-0 win over Luton. "But he's doing a lot of things really well and as a captain, he's setting an example - we saw today how hard he's working, he's pressing and in the end, he's scoring a goal and he's massively important for us."