Erik ten Hag waxes lyrical about 'brilliant' Bruno Fernandes response to Liverpool loss

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag heaped praise on Bruno Fernandes for bouncing back from the criticism he received after the 7-0 loss to Liverpool.

Fernandes wore the captain's armband for that crushing defeat at Anfield and was widely blasted by fans and critics for an undeniably frustrating performance, but the Portugal international managed to put that behind him with an impressive showing in Thursday's victory over Real Betis.

Erik ten Hag kept Fernandes as his captain and was rewarded with a goal and an assist from the 28-year-old in a comfortable 4-1 win for United.

"He was the best player on the pitch and it showed his personality," Ten Hag said after the game. "He played in a little bit of a deeper role tonight, he was brilliant.

"He was a leader in playmaking from deep and controlling the rhythm of the game. He had a lot of good passes in between the lines and from there-on we created a lot of chances."

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The boss also told BT Sport of Fernandes: "He led the team from the first minute by his game, with possession, make the rhythm of the game and score a goal so I'm happy."

Fernandes was part of a United lineup that was unchanged from the defeat to Liverpool and Ten Hag confessed he felt the best way to respond was to give the players involved an immediate opportunity to redeem themselves.

"It was [the plan] but I thought it was the best line-up when I saw Betis," Ten Hag said.

"We have played 23 games in a row with one loss, and even though the 24th was a huge defeat you cannot ignore the 22 games before where this team has played very well."

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On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Man Utd's transfer needs & strategy for this summer, Tottenham's interest in Emi Martinez, Liverpool scouting two rising Benfica stars & more.

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