Owen Hargreaves credits Bruno Fernandes for saving Man United in lucky draw vs. Bournemouth | OneFootball

Former Manchester United star Owen Hargreaves has said that the club’s game against Bournemouth would have been much worse were it not for Bruno Fernandes’ heroics.

United managed to salvage a point at the Vitality Stadium in a 2-2 draw on Saturday.

Equalising goals in either half from Fernandes ensured Erik ten Hag’s men, who were poor once again, got a share of the spoils.

In the opening 45 minutes especially, the Cherries peppered Andre Onana’s goal and were it not for the fact they let themselves down with some poor finishing, United would have almost certainly registered their 13th Premier League defeat of the season.

The Red Devils still conceded 20 shots, which Diogo Dalot admitted after the final whistle, was a huge problem.

The same issue of gaping holes in midfield was still apparent and Bournemouth fully capitalised on this shortcoming. Former defender Danny Higginbotham pinpointed this area of weakness in Ten Hag’s tactical set-up as he slammed the club for still persisting with the obviously flawed style of play which leaves the backline exposed and the midfielders with huge tracts of space to cover.

Hargreaves spoke on Premier League Productions and said that Fernandes was the player who rescued a point for his side.

The ex-United man said, “Man Utd were fortunate to get a point, they were not great. It has been a really frustrating season for them, but credit to Bournemouth for their part in this match.”

“If it wasn’t for Bruno Fernandes, Man Utd would have lost. Bournemouth dominated until Fernandes smashed their first shot on target into the roof of the net.”

The 43-year-old added, “People might complain about Bruno, but where would they be without him?”

Up next for United is a trip to Wembley to take on Coventry City in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

The competition represents the last chance for Ten Hag and his players to lift silverware and restore some of the pride that has already been lost.

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