Carrick to Leave Bruno Out for Bournemouth Match

Manchester United's head coach Michael Carrick will not start club captain Bruno Fernandes in their Premier League game against Bournemouth.

United will face the Cherries in their eighth EPL match at Old Trafford on Sunday.

A report from The Athletic says Carrick made this choice to boost the team’s form by putting the 32-year-old captain on the bench.

It stated, "Carrick has now made the call that captain Fernandes, who was substituted after 66 minutes against Como, will begin Sunday’s game on the bench as a substitute."

When asked on Friday if he would take the captaincy away from Fernandes, Carrick said, "I’ll always do what’s best for the football club. If I’ve spoken to (Fernandes) or haven’t spoken to him, I don’t think this is the time to go into too much detail."

In an interview with Sky Sports, United’s goalkeeper Senne Lammens said the team fully supports the coach and everyone at the club is united.

He mentioned, "I think it’s easy to see maybe after a game when players are very frustrated, and I get it, I’m very frustrated as well because we all really want to do better and we all want to win and then we might say sometimes things we don’t really mean or fully explain what we mean.

"Of course, the people at home can’t see that, so we need to also try to look like that when we are on the pitch at the weekend, but I can assure you that we’re doing everything we can, and we’re all together behind the coach, as a staff, players, front office.

"Everyone knows, of course, they have to do better, but I think we are united and we are trying to get better as a team and together."

PUNCH Online reported that Fernandes and Carrick seemed to disagree about the team’s tactics after a 4-1 Champions League loss to Como.

This defeat raised concerns about Carrick’s future, with fans unhappy following a poor performance.

Carrick later apologized to the 700 United fans who traveled to watch the game.

Speaking to TNT Sports on Wednesday after the loss, Fernandes questioned why they did not press Como more aggressively. He suggested that the strategy let their opponents feel confident and take control of the match.

"It’s a decision from the staff to not press man to man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, but sometimes when you give too much of the ball to these teams, they get confidence," Fernandes said.

This will be the first Premier League game of the season where Fernandes starts on the bench. The last time he was a substitute was on May 4, 2025, in a 4-3 loss to Brentford. Fernandes has scored four goals in his 11 appearances across all competitions.