Captain Bruno Fernandes admitted that he and his teammates lost confidence and doubted their ability to play for Man Utd because of a series of bad results.
"The trust has to be there, because if you don't trust each other it's going to be difficult," Fernandes said after the 3-2 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League round 19 at Old Trafford. "Obviously, there were doubts, even within each of us. We asked ourselves, 'Are we good enough to be here?' That's normal when things don't go well. That's how you overcome the doubts, and get results, even when things don't go well."
Fernandes was excited after Man Utd beat Aston Villa 3-2 in round 19 of the Premier League at Old Trafford on December 26. Photo: AFP
Before the match against Aston Villa, Man Utd were under a lot of pressure with a four-match winless streak, losing 0-2 to West Ham, 0-3 to Bournemouth, drawing 0-0 with Liverpool in the Premier League and losing 0-1 to Bayern in the Champions League. This was also the first time Man Utd had failed to score in four consecutive matches in 31 years. They were also eliminated from the Champions League, the League Cup and dropped out of the Top 6 of the Premier League.
The Red Devils also made a poor start in their final home game of 2023, conceding two goals to Aston Villa after just 26 minutes. John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker scored for the visitors from set pieces.
But in the second half, Man Utd dominated and won thanks to the sublime performance of the strikers. After having a goal disallowed for offside, Alejandro Garnacho scored twice to bring the match back to the starting line. The "Red Devils" completed the comeback victory in the 82nd minute thanks to a close-range shot by Rasmus Hojlund. This was the Danish striker's first goal in 1026 minutes, with his 19th shot in his 15th appearance in the Premier League.
According to Fernandes, Man Utd needed this win and Hojlund also had an important goal. "We want the strikers to be confident to score more goals," said the 29-year-old midfielder. "Hojlund knows there is a lot of pressure when playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world. You have to get used to it. Hopefully he will be more confident, because we need Hojlund and the strikers to score."
Garnacho's first strike in the 59th minute ended a run of 439 minutes without a goal in all competitions. At 19 years and 178 days, Garnacho became the youngest player to score at least two goals on Boxing Day 26 December in the Premier League, surpassing Michael Owen's mark of 20 years and 12 days against Newcastle in 1999.
"Too many people talk about how Man Utd's strikers never score or assist. But today Marcus Rashford assisted, Hojlund and I scored. Everyone is very happy," the Argentine player responded to criticism of Man Utd's attack since the beginning of the season.
Garnacho also described scoring twice to help United come from behind to win on Boxing Day in their final game at Old Trafford in 2023 as the best day of his life. "I wanted to try to control everything," the 19-year-old added of United's approach in the second half. "I said we only needed one goal to come back. We never gave up and kept pressing after the first goal."
Round 20 of the Premier League, Man Utd will travel to Nottingham Forest's home field to play the last match of 2023 on December 30.
Hong Duy
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