Bruno Fernandes: Gary Neville says Man Utd midfielder's free role hindering attacking play as Jamie Carragher calls him 'a great talent, not a great player'
Gary Neville says Bruno Fernandes' freedom on the pitch is negatively impacting Manchester United's attacking play.
United may have hit the net twice against Tottenham on Sunday but only three teams have scored fewer goals than them in the Premier League this season.
Speaking on The Overlap, Sky Sports pundit Neville suggested the positioning of Portugal international Fernandes could be a key reason for Erik ten Hag's side's struggles in attack.
"Any team that is anything at all you see repeated patterns," said Neville. "Bruno Fernandes is obviously the best player in terms of talent but he's everywhere.
"He must be told to go and do what you want. I don't see Ten Hag say to him, 'get back in'. With Pep Guardiola, if a [Man City] player plays out of position for a minute or two minutes [Guardiola and his coaches are] on the sideline saying, 'get back into your position'.
"Ten Hag is giving him the freedom to go there, there, there.
"And that means you can never have a combination or a pattern because you've got your main midfield player everywhere on the pitch.
"It's almost a bit like 20 years ago where your No 10, you gave them licence to play. That's gone now. You have to fit within a combination and a pattern and system of attacking shape."
Former England and Manchester City women's team midfielder Jill Scott underlined the difference in structure between the Manchester rivals, pointing to how Kevin De Bruyne plays in a more contained position for the defending champions.
"[Fernandes] must have been given the freedom to go and add a number. But if you're playing in that team, it's so difficult if someone is doing that," she said.
"At City, how many players could do that? De Bruyne, [Phil] Foden could do it but they'd never be
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