Fernandes takes different route to Rangnick in assessing Man Utd draw | Football

Bruno Fernandes’ assessment of Manchester United’s goalless draw with Watford, describing their performance as “good”, is unlikely to sit well with interim boss Ralf Rangnick. The Red Devils saw their hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top four take a hammer blow after being frustrated against a resolute opposition defence.

Cristiano Ronaldo hit the woodwork and had a goal ruled out for offside, while Bruno Fernandes spurned two gilt-edged chances in the first half alone as United failed to make their dominance pay.

Anthony Elanga and Paul Pogba came close to breaking the deadlock as Rangnick threw on Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, but to no avail as the hosts went home with only a point.

Fernandes, in particular, was guilty of ignoring a simple square pass to Ronaldo which would have given the latter a tap-in and that proved costly as United lost ground in the race for a top-four finish.

Despite that, the 27-year-old felt that his side generally performed well and felt it was one of those days for his side in terms of missing chances.

“We had big chances to score, I had at least two big chances,” Fernandes said after the game.

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Rangnick was less sympathetic about his side’s profligacy and referenced Fernandes’ chance in his post-match interview as an example of their inability to hit the back of the net.

“Five massive chances in the first half, three in the second,” he said in his post-match interview.

“Sometimes we were unlucky like when Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post but we had one-on-one opportunities.

“This is not luck, this is sharpness, efficiency and being clinical.”

The result means United are three points behind Chelsea, who will have two games in hand, and the Red Devils will be looking over their shoulder at Arsenal, West Ham and Tottenham.

Their missed opportunity to win could come at a huge cost as United prepare to face leaders Manchester City in the local derby clash at the Etihad Stadium next weekend.

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