Gary Neville has said it is “hard” for Manchester City players to line up alongside £125m signing Enzo Fernandez, even as the Argentine played a starring role in City’s controversial 1-0 win over Manchester United in the 199th Manchester derby.
City won at Old Trafford despite playing more than half the match with 10 men after Phil Foden was shown a straight red card in the 23rd minute. He got the card for planting his studs into Bruno Fernandes’ midriff — a reaction to an off-the-ball kick from the United captain that went unpunished.
Erling Haaland then settled the contest in the 60th minute, converting a Josko Gvardiol cross in a passage of play that would go on to dominate the post-match conversation.
Neville questions Fernandez’s positioning
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the former United defender turned his attention to Fernandez’s role in midfield alongside fellow new arrival Elliot Anderson, who was named Manchester City’s Player of the Match for his performance in the middle of the park.
Neville said it had been a significant examination of Anderson’s game to be paired with Fernandez, given the Argentine’s tendency to drift from his position.
“I thought it was a massive test for Elliot Anderson, and I wanted to see him play alongside Enzo Fernandez because I think it’s hard to play alongside Enzo Fernandez.
“I think he’s also an outstanding player, by the way, but I think he’s also difficult to read what he’s going to do next.
“He’s never quite where you want him, and I think, to be fair, Manchester City’s players and coaches will know that. But he is a brilliant player. He influences the game, he’s sort of got that big personality, he’s got that determination, that ferocity about him, but he is sometimes lacking positional discipline in the sense that he’s not quite where Elliot Anderson would want him in balancing off as a two.”
Neville’s assessment, first reported by Sportskeeda, came despite Fernandez’s involvement in one of the pivotal moments of the match.
Anderson has no complaints about his midfield partner
Anderson himself struck a very different tone after the final whistle, brushing off any suggestion that playing next to Fernandez had complicated his afternoon.
The 23-year-old, who joined City from Nottingham Forest, described enjoying the physical battle alongside his new midfield partner and praised the Argentine’s quality on the ball.
City’s summer rebuild under new head coach Enzo Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, has centred on a midfield reshaped by two of the most expensive transfers of the window.
Anderson’s move from Forest and Fernandez’s £125m arrival from Chelsea with a fee that matched the British transfer record.
Sunday’s win, achieved with 10 men for more than an hour, was widely seen as an early marker of how that new-look team can cope under pressure without Guardiola on the touchline.
