EPL: Carrick to bench Brruno for Bournemouth clash — Report

Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder #08 Bruno Fernandes (C) waves at the end of the match after getting a hat-trick during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Ipswich Town at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on August 30, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick will leave club captain Bruno Fernandes out of the starting line-up ahead of their Premier League match against Bournemouth.

United will host the Cherries in their eighth EPL game at Old Trafford on Sunday.

According to a report by The Athletic, Carrick took the decision to revitalise the team’s form by relegating the 32-year-old captain to the bench.

It said, “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.”

Asked on Friday whether he would strip Fernandes of the captaincy, 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.”

When interviewed by Sky Sports, United’s goalkeeper Senne Lammens noted that the team is solidly behind the coach while everyone at the club stays united.

He said, “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.

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“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 appeared to disagree over the team’s tactical approach following a humiliating 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como.

The loss raised fresh questions about Carrick’s future, with the United boss facing scrutiny after a disappointing performance that left the travelling supporters frustrated.

Carrick later apologised to the 700 United fans who made the trip to watch the game.

Speaking to TNT Sports on Wednesday after the defeat, Fernandes questioned the decision not to press Como aggressively, suggesting that the approach allowed their opponents to grow in confidence and control the game.

“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 that Fernandes has started on the bench. He last started a game as a substitute on May 4, 2025, in a 4-3 defeat at Brentford. Fernandes has scored four in his 11 appearances across all competitions.