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Bruno Fernandes explained why he gave up the chance of a hat-trick in Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir, while manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that he was happy that his players “shared penalties.”
Fernandes had opened the scoring in the Champions League clash with a stunner in the seventh minute, before converting from close range with just 19 minutes remaining.
The Portuguese midfielder then had the opportunity to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Boli Bolingoli put Marcus Rashford inside the box inside the box, but even though he initially caught the ball, he did a side, which allowed the England forward to finish an emphatic time. of the hosts.
Marcus Rashford finally dispatches the penalty to make it 3-0
“Of course all the players want to do a hat-trick, but after the Premier League game, I told ‘Rashy’ which one he would take next,” Fernandes said after the match.
“I remembered that, and also because he is one of the top scorers in the Champions League, I thought it would be important for him to have that confidence.”
Added to BT sport: “But it doesn’t matter who takes the penalties, the most important thing is to score.”
It was Manchester United’s 30th penalty in 75 games since the start of last season and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted he had no problem with his players sharing responsibility.
Solskjaer said: “Bruno is very confident, Marcus is also a very good penalty taker; if Bruno feels like he wants to give it to Marcus, so be it. Anthony (Martial) had one against RB Leipzig, why not share them” .
Fernandes has been involved in 34 goals in 35 games in all competitions for Man Utd (21 goals, 13 assists)
When asked if he was ever surprised by the Portuguese’s contribution, Solskjaer said at his press conference: “Not really, no.
“Of course we see him every day in training. We knew what we were going to achieve when we brought Bruno to the team. He is a player who likes to take risks. He likes to create chances, he likes to score goals.
“He’s a winner, he wants the team to win and he wants the team to do well. I think today he shows that he can do more than just shoot penalties.”
No Solskjaer’s complacency
The 4-1 win, capped by a late Dan James goal, means Solskjaer’s side only needs one point from their last two
matches to qualify for the round of 16, but next week’s home game against PSG and the trip to RB Leipzig means the manager is not getting ahead.
“The group is still very open,” said the Norwegian.
“We have nine, two in six points (PSG and RB Leipzig) and Basaksehir in three, so we still need points to pass.
Manchester United only need one point to qualify from Group H
“Probably one should be enough and three will probably give you the win, so I hope that against PSG we can secure the points we need, but that’s another matter.
“Edinson (Cavani on his first outing) and Donny (van de Beek) did very well, both.
“Of course I thought the whole team played very well. We found our positions and the pace with the ball was really good.
“We deserved the win, of course, after that first half. The second half is always different and it’s harder to keep up when you win 3-0.”
Pogba update, waiting for Solskjaer in duo
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Victor Lindelof were replaced with problems on a play that Solskjaer hopes is a precaution.
“Hopefully they’ll be ready for the weekend, but we’re not sure. It’s a bad back for Victor and Aaron had an ankle problem, so there was no point risking it getting more swollen.”
Solskjaer also gave a brief pre-match update on Paul Pogba, who was absent from the team.
“His ankle is swollen. He trained [on Monday] but I didn’t feel good and the confirmation was there [Tuesday] Morning.”
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