'Big time players step up'- Pundit says as he selects United's duo in BBC Team of the week

Manchester United completed a comeback against Fulham in the Emirates FA Cup quarterfinals on Sunday evening to progress to the semifinals, where they will face Brighton Albion at Wembley in April.

 

 

Bruno Fernandes' brace and Marcel Sabitzer's flick turned the game around after falling behind the visitors at Old Trafford as Mitrovic gave them a deserving lead on the resumption of the second half of the encounter.

 

 

Although the game will always be remembered for the second-half meltdown that saw Fulham's manager and two of his players get sent off, Manchester United staged a comeback, displaying their fighting spirit.

 

Their performance earned two of Manchester United's players a spot in the BBC Team of the Week, as selected by pundit Garth Brooks. He singled out Bruno Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez for their displays in the quarterfinal win.

 

Discussing Fernandes, he said: “Big-time players step up to the mark when games get interesting, and they didn’t get more interesting than when Fulham had two players sent off.”

 

Then he went further to defend his decision of selecting Manchester United's 5-foot-9 Argentine defender in his team of the week while lauding Manchester United's number 6 for bouncing back after his humiliation at Anfield.

 

“I didn’t think I would be picking a Manchester United defender so soon after their mauling at Liverpool." "However, United have bounced back from that humiliation, and Martinez in particular," he explained.

 

“The defender hasn’t lost his nerve, and against Fulham, when the game was on the verge of spiraling out of control, he showed focus and enough constraint to help United turn the game in their favor.”

 

 

Bruno Fernandes made 3 key passes, had a pass accuracy of 76%, had 84 touches, he completed 6 of the 11 long passes attempted, attempted 7 crosses, attempted two shots and scored twice while completing 90 minutes. He was rated 9.0 by Sofascore.

As for Lisandro Martinez, the 5feet Argentine made 93 touches, and has a 92% pass accuracy. He was able to complete 5 of his 8 attempted long passes. He made three clearances, succeeded with 1 interception and 2 tackles while getting dribbled past once. He won 3 of his 5 ground duels and 1 of his 3 aerial duels. He got a 7.0 ratings on Sofascore.

Manchester United will resume action after the international break with a trip to Brighton in the Premier League on April 2, 2023.