We have to forget what we did against Tottenham: Bruno Fernandes on Atalanta clash

Bruno Fernandes was understandably delighted to help Manchester United get back to winning ways at Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday, as he registered an assist and an important interception for the second goal. Not one to rest on his laurels, Fernandes is fully focused on making sure the Reds build on the 3-0 win in north London when they take on Atalanta in the Champions League group stage. Last month, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men sealed a memorable come-from-behind victory over the Italian side at Old Trafford to claim the top spot in Group F on six points. Things remain very tight across all four teams in the group, as Villarreal sit level with Atalanta on four points, while bottom-placed Young Boys are on three. 

With two home wins to their name, the Reds are looking to get their first away victory of this season’s European campaign. Fernandes is familiar with the Italian side having faced them during his time with Udinese. When asked how important is it now to maintain the level shown against Spurs ahead of a big Champions League game, Bruno said, “Really important. We have to forget what we did against Tottenham because it’s a different competition, a completely different game and a different opponent with different ways to play.” 

“We have to be careful because we saw what they did against us at Old Trafford. In the first half, they came with great personality and great quality. They were intense and at [their] home we expect that also. We know what we have to do, it’s about doing the same job we did against Tottenham in terms of the mentality and the belief and the running… everything we did. And then we have to put our qualities into this game again.”

Fernandes on Ronaldo, Cavani and Rashford goals

On Saturday, Fernandes delivered a beautiful lobbed ball to Cristiano Ronaldo, who converted it with an exquisite first-time volley. “[Smiles] The ball is good, but obviously that finish was perfect. It was really difficult to finish on the first touch, with not much space to hit the target in the way he did. It’s always nice to see someone score and, obviously, I was really happy for my pass. But more happy for the goal because if the pass goes through and the striker doesn’t score, then it will never be a good pass! So I’m really happy that he scored and we won the game, that’s the most important thing,” he added.

Speaking about Cavani’s goal on that night, “As I said before, the belief with everything was perfect. In that moment, I trusted I could take the ball from the defender, I went with everything and recovered the ball and, after, I just tried to pass the ball to Cristiano. It was a great pass from him and an amazing finish from Edi and we are really happy for Edi. He deserved his goal, he’s one of those players who gives everything on the pitch every time he plays, he’s always at the top level and I’m really happy for him.” 

“Rashy, of course, has had a difficult summer because of his shoulder injury and, for a long time, he was trying to help us and help us with a lot of pain. Of course, he has had time to recover and he has started really strongly, I think he’s got something like four [note: three] goals in four games [since he came back]. I’m really happy for him because he’s a nice kid and he deserves it. He suffered a lot in the past [with his injury] which people didn’t know about and it’s time for him to get the credit he deserves.”