Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes did not mince his words following his side’s 2-2 pre-season draw against Everton, labelling the performance “lazy” and calling for further reinforcements ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
United looked on course for victory in Atlanta, Georgia, after a second-half strike from Mason Mount restored their lead following Iliman Ndiaye’s equaliser. Fernandes had opened the scoring, but the match ended in frustration for United after an inexplicable 75th-minute own goal from youngster Ayden Heaven gifted Everton a draw.
The result brought a slight halt to United’s momentum during their pre-season tour of the United States, following positive wins over West Ham United and Bournemouth.
“It’s been important for developing how we want to play and getting the new players involved too,” Fernandes told NBC Sports. “We didn’t want to finish in this way. Our performance wasn’t the best and we were a little bit lazy today. We want to avoid that because with laziness you can pay at any moment.”
United are looking to recover from their worst-ever Premier League finish last season, having ended the 2024–25 campaign in 15th place. New signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo both featured in the match, but Fernandes made it clear more arrivals are needed.
“It’s improving. But it’s not the place it needs to be. I don’t want to take a dig at anyone but the club is doing the best they can in terms of the financial situation they talk about,” he said.
“But it was crystal clear we needed more competition for the players that were here, more quality to get everyone to step up a little more to get to the XI, and I think that is what the club are trying to do.
Hopefully we can get one or two players more to help with that.”
Manager Ruben Amorim responded positively to Fernandes’s comments, seeing them as a sign of the players’ awareness of the club’s challenges.
“I think I’m happy for the players to have that feeling. It’s saying that they understand the situation. So, it’s a good feeling,” Amorim said.
“I think the momentum of the tour was perfect. We had the weeks to work with a good environment, good feeling, and then we go back to Carrington and we are near to start the season.
We are going with the feeling that we need to do a lot of things better.”
Manchester United open their Premier League campaign away to Arsenal on August 17.