Bruno Fernandes: Manchester United captain hopeful club can take 'next step' after FA Cup win over Liverpool

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has said that he hopes that the dramatic FA Cup win over rivals Liverpool can kickstart real change at the club.

Amad Diallo scored a late winner at the very end of added time as United ended Jurgen Klopp’s hope of going out as Liverpool manager with a historic quadruple.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Fernandes said that the team do not fear anyone at Old Trafford and hoped that the win can mark a change in fortunes for the side.

However, he did admit that in the past the team hasn’t always taken the next step when they were presented with the opportunity.

“The game got a little bit spicy, a little more special because it’s an FA Cup game and if you lose, you’re out. We know the rivalry between fans, we know how United fans wanted us to win the game to give us something to celebrate because it’s not been great for us," he said.

"We’ve talked about turnarounds but have never done the next step. But I think we have to understand the FA Cup is a thing and the Premier League is another one.

"In the league now, we have 10 matches to go and we don’t depend on ourselves, but as we saw yesterday, Tottenham lost points to Fulham, and today [Aston] Villa lost points to West Ham."

Fernandes is now hoping United can use the result to make a renewed push for next season's Champions League, with five places potentially on offer from the Premier League depending on England's UEFA coefficient.

"But our main goal is to not lose points to Brentford away, so when we get back, we need to put our effort into winning that game. Our focus will be on winning that game. We need to win every game we have ahead to have belief we can get into those [Champions League] spots," he said.

“Tottenham is now level with us in games. Villa have a game ahead of us, so we can get closer. But as I said, I want us to look at ourselves because if we don’t win games, there is no point.

"They can lose, but if we don’t win our games, the gap is there, so we know from our side we need to win every game and approach each game for the three points."

Diallo was sent off after he scored for receiving a second bookable offence for removing his shirt.

On the red card, Fernandes said he thinks that it is a rule that has to be changed.

"Unfortunately, he got sent off, but it's part of the moment and part of being young," he explained.

"This moment has to be enjoyed and I think it's one of the rules football has to change. You should be able to celebrate the goal, obviously with respect to other clubs, to enjoy your moment."

Because of that red card Fernandes had to fill in as emergency centre-back next to Harry Maguire, a role that he said he quite enjoyed as it helped the team.

“I do what’s needed to win games," he said. "I don’t mind, it wasn’t in the plan, it was trying to go man-marking on the pitch. But I felt at moments I could jump on their midfielders and at moments, I could drop a little bit to help H [Maguire] because obviously, they have a lot of pace up front.

"[Cody] Gakpo came on, he was fresh, H hasn’t played for a long time, so I was there to help him and the defenders to get a result. I don’t mind, but when I’m far away from the goal, I can’t get my goals and assists! But they can’t score anyway because I was a centre half in my early career, so I still got something from that.”

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