Bruno Fernandes fires warning to Man Utd ahead of second Leeds clash
By Tom Gott
Bruno Fernandes has warned his Manchester United teammates that they must prepare themselves better for Leeds' attempts to frustrate them on Sunday.
The two sides played out an eventful 2-2 draw on Wednesday, with the Red Devils forced to come from two goals down to salvage a point at Old Trafford, and they collide once again at Elland Road just four days on.
Fernandes was open with his frustrations towards Leeds' attempts to waste time towards the end of the game, and he challenged his fellow United teammates to ensure they kill the game off early enough to avoid falling to a similar fate.
"It's really frustrating to be down in the first half straightaway," Fernandes began. "In the second half we concede another goal – a little bit lucky from them, but we still concede another goal.
"I think we dominated all game. They had two goals, they had some more chances but not something really dangerous. To bounce back as we did was really good, but obviously we don't want to bounce back to 2-2. We wanted to bounce back to 3-2 and win the game. We didn't.
"We had some chances that a little bit unluckily we couldn't score from. They had too many players defending – they obviously waste some time with the goalkeeper.
"That is also part of the game, part of their game, so we have to learn with that and make ourselves be in a position that we can win games without being behind to the result."
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Fernandes was full of praise for the Old Trafford supporters for helping United get back into the first game against Leeds, but he was adamant the Red Devils will still be able to hold their own without their fans on enemy turf.
"The passion and the great atmosphere that the fans create for us was amazing," the midfielder continued. "It was the push probably to help us to get this draw, but obviously it's not what we want.
"With this team, with the character that we have in this team, the passion, the desire, the togetherness we have, we're not afraid to go anywhere to play against whatever opponent it is. I know that I will be in good hands with all of them.
"I know that this team will fight back, will give all the best and will not be afraid to play whatever is the pitch, the stadium or the team."