"He’s massively important" - Erik ten Hag hits out at Roy Keane and Gary Neville over criticism of Manchester United superstar 

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag hit back at Bruno Fernandes' critics after he scored a brilliant stoppage-time winner against Fulham on Saturday, November 4.

The Red Devils were under extreme pressure to get a result at Craven Cottage after suffering back-to-back 3-0 losses against Manchester City and Newcastle United.

However, it was yet another below-par performance from Manchester United. With the scores still 0-0 going into the 91st minute, it appeared as if they would drop points yet again.

Skipper Bruno Fernandes then stepped up to the plate, firing his shot into the bottom-right corner from distance to seal all three points for his side.

The 29-year-old has come under a lot of criticism in recent weeks, particularly after the defeat against Man City last weekend. Roy Keane stated he wanted Fernandes stripped off the captain's armband, while Gary Neville suggested he wasn't fit for a leadership role.

Ten Hag gave his thoughts on the criticism to TNT Sports, saying (via METRO):

"I don’t understand it. So everyone has their mistakes and no-one is perfect. But he is doing a lot of things very good. He shows every time as a captain that he is an example. As you saw today, how he is working, how he is pressing and then in the end he scores the goal. So he’s massively important for us."

He also gave his thoughts on Fernandes' goal:

"It’s clear. We scored a goal in the beginning [offside goal], we scored in the end. But if you score in the end, away from home, it’s always the best moment because for the opponent it’s then almost no time to get back."

Fernandes has had a decent start to the season for Manchester United, scoring two goals and registering three assists in 14 appearances across all competitions.

---

Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes gives his verdict on Fulham win

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes highlighted the importance of his goal, admitting his side were in desperate need of the three points amid their poor run of form.

The Red Devils have lost eight out of their opening 16 games across all competitions. They are also eighth in the Premier League standings with 18 points from 11 games, nine behind leaders Manchester City.

Fernandes told Match of the Day:

"With the goal you could see the belief of everyone, fighting for that ball. Everyone was fighting and at the end I could get the shot for the goal and the three points."

He added:

"It’s really important, we know the position we are in. We need to get results, it was massively important for us to get the three points today. We need to get points to start building something, we have to start somewhere because we’ve got big games coming."

Manchester United next face Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, November 8.