Manchester [UK], March 1 : Head coach Erik Ten Hag asked for more protection of Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes as he feels the opposition players have targeted the Portuguese midfielder however 110 Premier League players have been fouled more times than Fernandes this season.
Ten Hag didn't hold back from sharing his views after Fernandes was grabbed by the throat by a Nottingham Forest player Felipe during their FA Cup clash in the midweek. The defender didn't receive any punishment from the referee.
Ten Hag revealed that Bruno played with an injury against Nottingham in their FA Cup win. The Portuguese set up the only goal of the game in the final moments to send United to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Fernandes sustained an injury during Manchester United's 2-1 loss against Fulham in the Premier League last week.
On Fernandes being targeted by opposition sides, Ten Hag earlier said, as quoted from Sky Sports, "You see opponents targeting him, especially after Saturday when he had the knock and they see it. Then I feel the referee should protect him."
According to Sky Sports, in the past two games, Fernades was fouled once during the FA Cup clash against Nottingham while he wasn't fouled once during the Fulham game.
Sky Sports shared statistics on the number of times a player has been fouled this season in the Premier League.
According to those statistics, Fernandes is in the 111th spot and he has been fouled a total of 18 times in the Premier League in the ongoing season. Out of those 18 fouls, the opposition player has been booked twice.
Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is at the top and has been fouled 78 times. Crystal Palace attacker Jordan Ayew is in the second spot and has been fouled 76 times.
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