Bruno Fernandes insists Marcus Rashford can handle the heat of playing for Manchester United after the controversial striker scored in his side’s 4-3 win over Wolves.
The England forward returned to Erik ten Hag’s Molineux base after taking the blame for what has been described as a ’12-hour tequila bender’ that led to him missing training and last Sunday’s win through illness Newport missed.
Ten Hag was reluctant to speak at length about Rashford after the win, but United skipper Fernandes backed the 26-year-old to get through this misdemeanor.
“Marcus has been the same, this is what he is capable of,” Fernandes said. ‘This is what he has to do. This season hasn’t been great for everyone, not just Marcus, but we know some players get more attention than others.
“Everyone has something to prove, not just Marcus because of the news that came out, or whatever he has done in the media. Everyone needs to go the extra mile in games. It’s not just Marcus, it’s everyone else on the field.
Marcus Rashford was on the scoresheet during Man United’s dramatic 4-3 win over Wolves
Bruno Fernandes believes Rashford has shown he can handle the pressure at Man United
Rashford bounced back after completing a 12-hour tequila bender in Belfast last week
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‘You have to do the work. Marcus scored a great goal, we know his qualities, we know what he can do and what he can give to the team.
“Marcus knows better than me what it means to be a United player because he has played here all his life. I think he’s the one who can handle it better than anyone else.”
Ten Hag was full of praise for young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, who capped an excellent performance with the injury-time winner, although he was frustrated to see his side get back to 3-3 after taking a 3-1 lead.
He added: “His progress has been great to see. I have mixed feelings about the victory, because we have to hammer certain mistakes out of the team. But then you saw the resilience of the team and that shows that the character in the dressing room is right and that the atmosphere is very good.’
Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund put United 2-0 ahead and after Pablo Sarabia’s penalty, Scott McTominay restored the visitors’ two-goal lead. That was canceled out by Max Kilman and Pedro Neto and Wolves looked set for a point before Mainoo’s late strike.
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil said: ‘We look really good at times and we have to keep trying to improve.’
Kobbie Mainoo (left) scored a late winner and was praised for his performance by Erik ten Hag