Marcus Rashford defends Bruno Fernandes after scathing criticism

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Marcus Rashford defends Bruno Fernandes after scathing criticism

Marcus Rashford says he 'loves' playing with Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United and doesn't have a bad word to say about the club's vice-captain.

The Portuguese playmaker has been the subject of intense criticism for his on-field behaviour during United's embarrassing 7-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.

Fernandes was labelled a 'disgrace' by Gary Neville during Sky Sports' post-match coverage, while Roy Keane said 'senior players didn’t show any leadership skills, they were embarrassing'.

Some have questioned whether or not Fernandes, who again captained United on Sunday in the absence of Harry Maguire, is fit to be part of United's leadership group, but he has received strong backing from the in-form Rashford.

'"I love playing with Bruno, as you can imagine," Rashford told the media ahead of United's Europa League clash with Real Betis. "For a forward like me, he’s the perfect player to play with.

"I think he’s been a good leader for us, even when he’s not been captain, which is always a good sign. He’s helped other players become better leaders.

"The reality of it is, we can’t be a well organised team with just one leader being the captain. He has done a lot for us in terms of bringing leadership skills in and that was from the moment he arrived."

When asked about the criticism Fernandes has received, Rashford added of his support for the 28-year-old: "I don’t have anything negative to say about Bruno. Like the manager said, no-one is perfect. Sometimes you want to win so bad you end up doing things that are a little bit out of character. I 100 per cent support Bruno and I am behind him.

"As a team we have to support him because he is a fantastic player and like the boss said, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in if he wasn’t playing games for us."