Fernandes expecting possible Reds revival
Bruno Fernandes is not reading too much into Liverpool’s poor recent run as the Manchester United midfielder attempts to knock out their bitter rivals.
A week on from the sides’ tense 0-0 Premier League draw at an empty Anfield, Jurgen Klopp’s men head to Old Trafford for today’s eagerly-anticipated fourth-round encounter.
Liverpool make the trip along the M62 enduring a rare shaky moment, with Thursday’s shock 1-0 loss to Burnley their first home league defeat since April 2017.
The third-round triumph against the youngsters of coronavirus-hit Aston Villa is the only win they have managed in their last six matches in all competitions, but Fernandes knows they can bounce back at any point.
“I think teams have moments,” the Portugal international said. “I don’t think Liverpool are playing poorly. I think they don’t win and this is the point.
“When teams don’t win, everyone talks about that. When players don’t score, everyone talks about that.
“I feel that on me because I know the standard is high, because I arrived and I scored a lot of goals and make a lot of assists, and everyone is wanting goals and assists from me.
“It is the same – everyone expects goals from (Mohamed) Salah, from (Roberto) Firmino and from (Sadio) Mane. They are not scoring in the last games and it starts feeling like ‘oh, they are not playing well’.
“They create, they play, but the other teams are playing better and, as I said before, they have more qualities to play.
“Every team goes there to play maybe without the pressure of the fans. Teams play a little bit more comfortably and, as I say, I think it is a moment.”
Fernandes is hoping to taste victory against Liverpool for the first time since arriving at United and will be desperate to make amends for missing a fine chance to win last weekend’s game at Anfield.
“In the past already I have seen United playing for a long time and I know what that game means for the fans,” he said.
“Everyone knows and of course, for us, it means a lot because it is a cup (tie) and it is a chance to put one of the strongest teams who are in the Cup with us out, so we have to take that.
“Of course, we have so many teams in the Cup in this moment that maybe you can have an easier game than this. But if you want to win the Cup then you have to beat the biggest teams.”
United are buoyed by their place atop of the Premier League pile, having won a tough clash at Fulham on Wednesday evening.
Paul Pogba’s stunning goal sealed a 2-1 win for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men at Craven Cottage, providing a welcome shot in the arm.
Reds manager Jurgen Klopp hopes his side have hit their lowest point and can now start to bounce back.
He insists his players have not “changed overnight” despite the defeat to Burnley ending a 68-match unbeaten home league run after a fourth successive game without a goal.
Their challenge only gets harder today, but Klopp wants to believe they have reached their nadir and can start to climb out of the slump.
“We lost that game and it was a really low point. It’s not that I thought, ‘Who cares?’,” he said.
“When I think back I can’t find a reason why we lost that game, but we lost it. It happened and sometimes you need a really low point to change things properly.
“People don’t change overnight. People sometimes face challenges they are not immediately ready for and sometimes you don’t even know a challenge will come up.
“But this is a challenge I didn’t want to have. Was it absolutely impossible it could happen? No, especially in the situation we are.
“They (the players) are still brilliant people and brilliant characters, all of them.”
Forward Mohamed Salah was on the bench for the first hour of the Burnley defeat, but will be unleashed against United as the Premier League’s leading goalscorer looks to improve a run of one goal in six matches.
In an interview published in Spain just before Christmas, the Egypt international spoke about his disappointment over not being made captain for the Champions League dead rubber against Midtjylland, while also expressing his admiration for Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Klopp insists that speculation is not a distraction for the player or the team.
He said: “That’s a normal thing in the world of football. We get asked questions and then we answer. I don’t think it will distract the season.”