Manchester United’s captain has publicly backed his head coach for the first time since being left out of the starting XI last month.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the 3-2 Champions League comeback that ended United’s nine-game winless streak, Bruno Fernandes insisted the decision to bench him for the Bournemouth game was about his own form, not punishment. He also rejected media claims that he and Carrick had held a private clear-the-air meeting before he returned against Chelsea.

“It’s been tough, there’s been a lot of speculation in the media. A lot of lies around many things that have happened between me and the manager,” Fernandes told Amazon Prime.

Asked whether the benching was a sanction for the criticism he aimed at the manager’s tactics after a 4-1 defeat at Como, the midfielder was blunt.

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“If it was, it was right. The manager is the one who makes the decisions.”

From Como criticism to Old Trafford penalty

Fernandes had publicly questioned the team’s tactical approach after the heavy loss at Como. Carrick left him out of the next Premier League match against Bournemouth, and he returned to the starting XI for the Chelsea defeat before starting against Roma on Tuesday night.

At Old Trafford, he put United back into the game from the spot after the visitors had gone 2-0 up by half-time. Matheus Cunha then struck twice in the second half to complete the turnaround before being sent off for a late challenge. The win was United’s first in 54 days.

Carrick clings on amid worst start in 40 years

Even with the comeback, United sit 17th in the Premier League with only one victory from their opening league fixtures, their worst start to a season in four decades. The club has chosen to delay a decision on Carrick’s future until after the November international break rather than move against him immediately.

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Fernandes dismissed the suggestion that his words or the Roma win amounted to an attempt to rescue the manager’s job, pointing instead to a team and a club that simply needed a result.

United host Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday 8 November at Old Trafford, with kick-off at 4:30pm local time.

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