Bruno Fernandes hits out at 'lies' about relationship with Michael Carrick at Manchester United after comeback win over Roma

Bruno Fernandes has hit out at "lies" surrounding his relationship with Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick after the team sealed a stunning comeback victory over AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

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With United trailing 2-0 at half-time, Fernandes inspired United to a second-half comeback by scoring a penalty at the second attempt and then assisting Matheus Cunha for the equaliser, before the Brazilian grabbed a dramatic late winner.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the 3-2 win, the United skipper wanted to set the record straight following speculation that he had been dropped against Bournemouth late last month for criticising Carrick's tactics after their 4-1 defeat at Como.

Fernandes was first asked if the win had saved Carrick's job, with the Portugal international replying: "We don’t need to save anyone’s job."

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It was then put to him that Carrick needed the win, and Fernandes said: "The club needed that win, the players needed that win.

"It’s been tough, a lot of speculation in the media, a lot of lies around many things that happened at this club between me and the manager."

Fernandes scores retaken penalty to give Man Utd a lifeline against Roma

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An emotional Fernandes went on to address being dropped for the Premier League meeting with Bournemouth, which United lost 3-0.

"The manager took a decision of putting me on the bench, because I wasn’t performing, and that's fair," Fernandes said.

"Everyone felt that was a punishment for the words that I had [said], and if it was, it was right.

"The manager is the one that makes the decisions. I have to accept them, I have to go forward with that.

"It doesn’t change the belief I have in the manager and the staff, and it doesn’t change my aim to win every f****** game I have ahead of me."

The victory ended a run of nine games without a win in all competitions for the club, with United currently down in 17th in the Premier League table.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Bruno said: "We're very happy, obviously. It was a game with a lot of emotions, and we're happy with the result.

"It was a long time waiting for a win for us, for our fans, for our club, but we're very happy with the way the game ended.

"We know there are things that we have to look at to try to make it better, but, obviously, the most important thing is getting results, and we did that today.

"There's always a belief at Old Trafford. With our fans together with us, it's a very difficult place to play against. If we are at it, it's a very difficult place to come and play.

"Obviously, we know the past results haven't helped much, but we knew the fans would be behind us, and then we just had to get a result for them.

"I don't think the stadium has [ever] been missing, because we had them for the last few games. Things were not coming our way, but today was a good day for us. We could turn things around, and we are very happy with it."

'Nerves' were a factor, says Carrick

Carrick felt that "nerves" played a part before the break when Roma's first goal "came from nowhere".

Speaking to UEFA, Carrick said: "It was a challenging game. I think we started OK in the game. We knew it was going to be tough, they've only had one defeat all season. They're a very, very good team.

Michael Carrick celebrates Manchester United's comeback win over Roma

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"So we talked about what we wanted to do in the game. We started okay, and then the goal came from nowhere. We caused ourselves a few issues. In some ways, understandable with the run we've been on, a little bit anxious and a few nerves at times.

"Then I thought we grew into the game a bit at the end of the first half, and I spoke at half-time about being positive.

"Anything can happen here, I've seen it many times over the years. You just need something to go our way and the boys were fantastic in the second half.

"They kept going, didn't get disappointed and got exactly what they deserved in the end."

Asked if he sensed a comeback, Carrick said: "This place does it. No matter what situation you're in, how tough it can seem, the supporters are desperate to get behind you, and we gave them something to go on.

"We gave them other opportunities to score, and it was close, and you're thinking, 'that's another chance gone by', but we kept looking, kept pushing for answers and we found them in the end."

Asked about his position, Carrick added: "I don't have a crystal ball to know what happens next.

"We move on to the weekend, we've got a really important game here against Aston Villa, which we need to prepare for right."

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