Despite much criticism, Manchester United was the better team in the first half against Leicester City, according to Bruno Fernandes.
In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani due to illness and injuries, Ralf Rangnick decided to play without a recognized striker. The judgment has been chastised by pundits such as Gary Neville and Alan Shearer.
The first half ended scoreless, with both goals in the 1-1 tie coming in the second. City took the lead with a diving header from Kelechi Iheanacho, but the lead lasted only a few minutes as Fred scored on the rebound after Kasper Schmeichel saved Fernandes.
In the midst of a debate over Rangnick’s choice to keep striker Marcus Rashford on the bench and play with a false nine, Fernandes voiced his displeasure with the first half. “It’s something we’ve done before against (Manchester) City and it worked really well in the first half,” he told the Manchester Evening News.
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“I thought it was working today because we had chances and were compact.” In the first half, Leicester had few chances. It’s something you have to utilize from time to time. It has to be something that works for the team. It’s not about one or two players. We must be present for the team.”
The city had chances in the first half, and either Harvey Barnes or Kelechi Iheanacho could have given them the lead in the first 45 minutes. The former had a couple of shots from outside the area and didn’t quite connect with a ball into the box, but the latter should have done better with a chance just outside the 18-yard box.
Maddison, who spoke to Sky Sports after the game, disagreed with Fernandes: “I think we were dominant in the first half.” “Sometimes, even without the ball, you can nearly feel in charge.” They clearly played with Bruno and Pogba in the absence of a recognized striker. They have some challenging players in a variety of positions, but I felt we were in command. We were, in fact, the superior squad.”
