Why Bruno Fernandes labelled his Man Utd team-mates 'lazy' in pre-season draw with Everton

United twice surrendered the lead against Everton on Sunday, and despite winning the Premier League Summer Series, captain Fernandes was unhappy with certain aspects of his side's performance. The Portugal star said his team-mates were too "lazy" off the ball and that nearly cost them.

The former Sporting CP midfielder told NBC, via The Telegraph: "Our performance wasn’t the best off the ball, we were a little bit lazy, and we have to avoid that because the laziness you can pay at any moment."

Although United beat Bournemouth and West Ham to win the pre-season tournament in the United States, head coach Ruben Amorim echoed some of Fernandes' concerns. 

He said: "I think I’m happy for the players to have that feeling. It’s saying that they understand the situation. So it’s a good feeling. I think the momentum of the tour was perfect. We had the weeks to work with a good environment, good feeling and then we go back to Carrington and we are near to start the season. We are going with the feeling that we need to do a lot of things [better]."

As the 40-year-old hinted, the Red Devils will still need to improve if they want to enjoy a successful season after a torrid 2024-25 campaign.

United continue their pre-season schedule when they take on Fiorentina on Saturday. Then, Amorim's side begin the new Premier League season at home to old adversary Arsenal at Old Trafford on August 17.