Bruno candidly addresses four key issues after Manchester United's home loss, including the referee's involvement and the controversial red card (video).
On 14 April 2026, Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United's midfield captain, gave an interview after the latest English Premier League match last night, in which they suffered a home defeat to Leeds United, 1-2.
In this match, Leeds took a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Noah Okafor in the 5th and 29th minutes. In the second half, Manchester United received a red card, reducing them to 10 men in the 56th minute when Lisandro Martinez was sent off after a VAR review for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair. Although Casemiro scored a header in the 69th minute to reduce the deficit, it was too late to change the outcome.
Bruno Fernandes spoke about Manchester United's performance after the home loss to Leeds United, saying, "We didn't play with the right intensity from the start. We knew they wanted to press man-to-man. We needed to handle the first ball better, and even more so the second balls."
"We played poorly overall, gave the opponents too much space, and eventually conceded the second goal. We had time in the second half to turn things around, but we couldn't."
The Manchester United captain spoke about the long 24-day break before returning to this match: "That's how it is. We were already out of the FA Cup, so we have only ourselves to blame for not playing for such a long time. We had to prepare as best as possible. We did, but it wasn’t enough to win."
Bruno Fernandes commented on Lisandro Martinez's red card: "I'm not talking about the referee. If I did, I'd probably get into serious trouble because the rules are applied differently for everyone. You can see it even with yellow cards. It's better if I say nothing."
Bruno avoided discussing comparisons over the controversial moments, such as the 5th-minute incident when Lenny Yoro was struck on the head by Dominic Calvert-Lewin's elbow, yet the referee did not call a foul before Leeds scored the first goal. Later, VAR was used to give Lisandro Martinez a red card for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair.
Regarding the impact on their goal to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, the Manchester United captain said, "It doesn't change what we want to achieve. We know our goal is to finish in the top four. It's in our hands. We have to win our games. If we do, we'll be in the position we want at the end of the season."
