‘It would be a lot more fun with us on 21 titles and Liverpool still on 19’
FERNANDES FIRED UP TO KEEP EDGE OVER RIVALS
LIVERPOOL V MAN UTD TOMORROW 4.30PM, SKY SPORTS
BRUNO FERNANDES has been at Manchester United for less than a year but has already been indoctrinated into beating Liverpool at all costs.
Tomorrow will be the first time he has faced Liverpool in a United shirt, when the two sides meet at Anfield in a top-of-the-table clash.
Against that backdrop, the midfielder knows it is vital United do not allow their rivals to draw level with them on 20 title wins.
“Of course I know, everyone knows,” said Fernandes. “You don’t want your rivals at the same level as you or with the same amount of trophies as you.
“It’s clear for everyone here at the club and in the dressing room – everyone knows what it means for the supporters.
“For them, the next day, going to talk to their friends who may be Liverpool fans, it’ll be much better if you’ve been the winner than the loser.
“And it would be a lot more fun with 21 titles and Liverpool still on 19.”
Fernandes, a £47million signing from Sporting Lisbon, has been the catalyst for United’s revival under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In 31 Premier League games, the 26-year-old has been directly involved in 33 goals – scoring 19 and assisting 14.
Inspired by Fernandes, an 11-game unbeaten league run has led to United overtaking Jurgen Klopp’s champions into top spot.
Liverpool last lost at home in the Premier League in April 2017, a run of 67 games, but Fernandes believes resurgent United have what it takes to end that sequence. “We know Liverpool are a really good team,” said Fernandes. “But we’ll go there to do our best to try to win the game, as we always do.
“After, whether it can be a problem for them, I don’t know. Liverpool will be ready to lose one game at home, I think.
“But I don’t think one defeat would make Liverpool worse than before. Being champions, they know what they have to do. They know what it is to have pressure on them.
“But we have to focus on what we have to do because we have a lot of pressure. For us to grow up (as a team), we have to go into these games to try to win it.”
Sir Alex Ferguson, left, said his greatest achievement was “knocking Liverpool off their f ****** perch”.
But if United are to land their first title since 2013, Fernandes said they must have the right mindset for every match – not just glamour fixtures like tomorrow.
He said: “Every game has to mean the same. We have to go into every game with the same mentality as we have for Liverpool.
“It can’t be different playing against Burnley to Liverpool. The main point for us is to keep going and make our best in every game.
“It’s about winning game by game, because being first in January or beating Liverpool in January and going six points ahead doesn’t mean you will be champions.
“You have to have the mentality to keep going and doing well – to win the next game and the next one and the next one.”