Former Manchester United player Paul Parker criticised Bruno Fernandes for his disappointing performance in the first half in the Red Devils' 4-1 win against Wolves.
Fernandes played a pivotal role in United's win, amassing two goals and giving one assist to give the club their biggest win of the season so far. His assist also saw him become the fifth player to register an assist in five back-to-back away Premier League games.
Despite producing two goals and one assist, Parker was not happy with Fernandes' first-half performance and thinks he 'got way with it.' He told Metro:
“He was really poor in the first half, Fernandes. I know he got himself a goal. I mean, his poor decisions sometimes, he was giving the ball away far, far too cheaply. But he got away with it, because his reaction to when he gives the ball away; sometimes he has to accept that when other players do it, he’s got to accept them as well sometimes. He looked absolutely terrible, but there you are.”
Fernandes started the scoring in the 25th minute from close range after being picked out by Matheus Cunha, but Jean-Ricner Bellagarde put Wolves back on level terms on the stroke of the first period. Six minutes after the restart, Bryan Mbeumo restored Manchester United's lead, while Mount added a third just after the hour mark. Eight minutes from time, Fernandes completed his brace and secured the victory from the spot.
The result meant Manchester United reached the sixth spot in the Premier league standings.
Paul Parker picks Manchester United player who has genuine leadership qualities
Further in the show, Parker lavished praise on Lisandro Martinez and said that the Argentine defender displayed leadership qualities that Fernandes doesn't possess. Martinez came off the bench for his third game since getting back from the ACL injury he picked up in February.
Despite appearing for 21 minutes at Molineux Stadium, Parker was happy with Martinez's cameo, saying he is a leader. He added:
“I’ll tell you what I did notice as well, Martinez. He came on, he went into the middle, and you could see him ushering people. When he got on the ball, he was ushering them forward. Step forward, he was telling them, he was organising them. He was getting around them, he was doing that when he came on. He’s been out there, he’s only had a few minutes of football, but he’s in his genes to do that. He is a leader.
“You don’t need an arm band to be a leader, just somebody who wants more from other people. And that’s what he’s done. Fernandes doesn’t do that, he doesn’t give you that. He’s an armband captain because he’s seen as United’s most important player.”
Fernandes has been Manchester United's skipper since July 2023, having been given the role by former manager Erik ten Hag as Harry Maguire's replacement.