Paul Merson says Michael Carrick needs Bruno Fernandes on side and Matheus Cunha to be consistent after Manchester United's dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Roma. United showed plenty of character to recover from two goals down in the Champions League on Tuesday, earning their first win in 10 games, but Merson believes the result should not disguise the problems that remain under Carrick. Merson also questioned whether United can carry that momentum into Sunday's Premier League clash with Aston Villa.
Merson believes Bruno Fernandes has to play for Manchester United. He is their best player, and when going through a difficult period, the best players must be on the pitch. Fernandes was left out against Roma, but Merson says you cannot keep leaving him out. Even if not playing well, Fernandes still gets into the team as they have no player better than him. United need to go back to putting their best team on the pitch. As long as Fernandes plays well, they will always have a chance of winning. However, United need to become much more of a 90-minute team. They were good against Chelsea in the first half on Saturday and had good spells against Roma, but winning matches requires 70 or 75 minutes of good football, not 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there.
Matheus Cunha is a passionate player, but he cannot be a nine one week and a four the next. At a club of United's size, players must be a seven or seven-and-a-half every week. These teams need to win week in, week out and cannot rely on one outstanding performance every few weeks.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing