Elijah Odetokun
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has revealed why he gave the ball to teammate Marcus Rashford to take the penalty for United’s third goal against Istanbul Basaksehir.
Fernandes is United’s designated penalty taker and has enjoyed a good conversion rate but he gave the ball to Rashford passing on a chance to complete his hattrick. He said he did that in fulfilment of a promise made to Rashford.
“Of course every player wants a hat-trick, but after the game in the Premier League I told Rashford that he could take the next one so I remembered that and also he’s one of the top scorers in the Champions League so it’s important for him to get the confidence. It doesn’t matter who takes the penalty as long as the team scores.” he told BT Sport.
Rashford also gave the penalty to Anthony Martial to take in the 5-0 defeat of RB Leipzig while on two goals though he would later complete his hattrick, his first for Manchester United.