StadiumPosts Logo
Stay upto date with notifications from Stadiumposts
Notifications can be managed in browser preferences

BRUNO FERNANDES SHOWS LEADERSHIP IN TRAINING AS SQUAD RESPONDS

Bruno Fernandes is mentoring Manchester United's record signing Matheus Cunha, helping the Brazilian adapt on and off the pitch. Their bond is paying dividends as Cunha opens his goal account.

Bruno Fernandes Shows Leadership In Training As Squad Responds
Bruno Fernandes Makes Statement In Training As United Players Respond - Photo Credit: Getty Images

Matheus Cunha has been mentored by Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes to help him reach his full potential and become a hero at Old Trafford.

Cunha, 26, had a rough start to life at United after joining in the summer for £62.5 million from Wolves. In fact, he missed one game due to a hamstring injury before the first international break and did not score or assist in any of his first eight outings.

But in Saturday's 4-2 victory over Brighton, the Brazil international broke his goal drought and scored his first goal for United. Cunha gave goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen no chance as he curled the ball from the edge of the box into the bottom corner to score his team's first goal.

According to The Sun, Fernandes has been "incremental" in assisting Cunha in managing the demands of playing for United. The two have developed a close mentoring relationship as a result of their shared Portuguese language skills.

It is reported that Fernandes and Cunha worked on free kicks and set pieces for hours during extra training sessions, and their strong bond is beginning to show on the field.

According to sources at The Sun, Cunha's confidence and emotional regulation have improved under Fernandes' tutelage, particularly during the Brazilian's stint out due to injury.

Despite neither scoring nor providing an assist in last Sunday's 2-1 victory over Liverpool, Cunha made an impression and offered hints that he might be a true star asset for United and head coach Ruben Amorim.

Amorim was full of praise for the former Wolves and Atletico Madrid player, who scored 17 goals in 36 games last season, after he managed to get on the scoresheet against Brighton.

"He was having trouble. "He can conceal that, but I know he is having difficulties," Amorim told the BBC. However, he exudes confidence throughout the entire game. I adore his style of defence. I realise I am a little simplistic, but his response at Anfield was not shocking.

"His style of play with the ball is not surprising, but he is getting better when he does not have it. That will have a huge impact on our team. He must score goals; he suffered when he failed to do so, but he is a great player because he makes the game-winning decisions, and I am very happy with him."

On Saturday, Cunha and United return to play as they visit Nottingham Forest. A fourth consecutive Premier League victory at the City Ground would put them as high as second in the standings.

With three straight wins over Sunderland, Liverpool, and Brighton, the Reds are in scorching form and have risen from the bottom part of the table to sixth place.

EX-CAPTAIN NEVILLE CLAIMS SUBSTITUTIONS MADE MANCHESTER UNITED "WORSE" AGAINST WOLVES

Gary Neville slams Ruben Amorim’s "weird" substitutions and tactical shifts after Manchester United's 1-1 draw with bottom-side Wolves.

top-news
Was the halftime substitution a tactical error or an injury?

Gary Neville said that the performance of Manchester United in their match against winless Wolves was ‘the baddest of the bad.’

United would have moved fourth in the league with a win at Old Trafford last night, although Wolves, who had two points in 18 games before kickoff, ended their record of 11 straight losses with a 1-1 draw.

Amorim’s team had been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by a League Two team, Grimsby, in August, but Neville was convinced that United had hit rock bottom in a game that could have been even more one-sided were it not for two important saves by Senne Lammens.

“That was the baddest of the bad," the former United captain declared on the Gary Neville podcast.

“They weren’t just booed off at the final whistle. The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them. They’ve gone backwards.”

United had won at Newcastle 1-0 on Boxing Day, despite being plagued by an injury list that already lacked skipper Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, and Matthijs de Ligt, as well as three players on African Cup of Nations duty.

But they remained flat right from the first whistle, and the header by Ladislav Krejci just before the half bottled Joshua Zirkzee's deflected shot.

Amorim’s formation choice of 3-4-3 was brought into focus once more as the Portuguese opted to go back to his preferred tactic of four at the back against Newcastle.

“This isn’t right. I’ve watched enough of United over the last five or six weeks to know what looks right and what isn’t right,” Neville had declared 20 minutes into his commentary on Sky Sports.

“Because, when I see that we go back (to three at the back) after five minutes tonight, I’m thinking, no, Ruben, why have you done that?

"The manager has to look at that and think, I got that wrong. I complicated it."

However, Amorim decided to substitute Zirkzee at halftime and brought on an 18-year-old Jack Fletcher, who made his third appearance at the senior level.

Regarding substitutions made by Amorim, Neville further added, “They made Manchester United worse. Every single substitution was ridiculous.”

‘If Zirkzee was injured, and it was a tactical substitution, that was a very poor one.’ But Zirkzee isn't Eric Cantona, not by a long shot, and he had to get out there for physicality, for presence, for experience.”

SEE LISANDRO MARTINEZ’S FURIOUS REACTION AFTER MAN UTD’S SHOCK WOLVES DRAW

Lisandro Martinez demands more after Man Utd’s 1-1 draw with bottom-placed Wolves. United ended 2025 sixth in the Premier League.

top-news
Martinez slams United’s tactical mistakes

Stand-in captain Lisandro Martinez was mad that Manchester United dropped points against Wolves, who are at the bottom of the league.

United came into the last game of 2025 after a good win against Newcastle on Boxing Day and were expected to easily beat Wolves.

Joshua Zirkzee scored first for United, but they didn't take their chances. Ladislav Krejci's header tied the game for Wolves, 1-1.

It was only their third point in 19 games, and it stopped their 11-game losing streak. United fans booed at the end of the game.

When Martinez was asked if it felt like a disappointing point, he said, 100 percent.

We are very disappointed. We can't keep drawing or losing points at home. We have to win.

We want to be at the top, competing with the best.

We can't drop points in games like this. We just have to accept it and be hungry for the next game.

Martinez was captain again because Bruno Fernandes is still recovering from an injury.

When United coach Ruben Amorim was asked about injured players for the game against Leeds on Sunday, he didn't give much away. Leeds are really wanting to beat United for the first time since 2010.

Martinez said to MUTV, You can either make excuses, or you can be strong and say, 'We're dropping points, so we need to go for the next one and show what we can do.'

We need to work together and do the easy things to get the three points.

United is in sixth place in the league at the end of 2025, only two points behind Liverpool for the last Champions League spot. Liverpool has a game in hand.

They could be in a better position if they had been better in both boxes. Leeds has been playing well lately, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin doing great up front.

Martinez added, It's about us. I don't like to think about other teams.

I'm thinking about what we can do to get better as a team every day, and we have to learn from this game.

Premier League Standings

WhatsApp Read More News