One of the more upsetting Premier League losses that Manchester United has experienced this year came from Newcastle United yesterday.

The reality that they were outfought rather than outclassed made the dominant display all the more frustrating.

Luke Shaw explained why he believed they lost in a post-game interview, saying, “I don’t think they won the game on quality today, I think they won it on passion, desire, hunger, attitude, and they had greater motivation than us and that can’t be possible.

Every time we lose, it seems like I repeat the same things. It’s not appropriate. That can’t be feasible at Manchester United.

The Red Devils cannot permit themselves to become involved in a fight for the top four, particularly with their FA Cup and Europa League presence still clogging their schedule, even though admitting such an issue is all well and good.

To reverse this decline in league performance, Erik ten Hag must find a solution, and one shocking solution might be to ultimately fire Bruno Fernandes.

Bruno Fernandes’ performance against Newcastle United.

The Portuguese midfielder seems to have come under increasing scrutiny for his declining standard of play ever since that humiliating loss to Liverpool.

Numerous media outlets sought to once again highlight their frustrations after Bruno Fernandes was criticized for his poor attitude at Anfield and struggled to make an impact at St. James’. Journalist Thomas Alencar wrote: “Bruno Fernandes was very out of touch and missed a lot of passes on the counterattacks.”

His statistics, which showed that he turned the ball over 16 times and won just one of the six duels he participated in, supported this, which inevitably led to his dismal 6.4 rating on Sofascore.

Thomas Hammond, a fellow author, even asserted that the 28-year-old was completely “ineffective” as a result of the Magpies’ style of play.

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Producer Elliot Hawkins, however, delivered perhaps the most scathing critique, saying he was “embarrassed to have Fernandes and Antony in my team.”

The £240k per week playmaker had 59 touches, but his impact on the field was confined to trying the impossible with predictably little success.

With high-flying Brentford and a desperate Everton up next, things are not going to get any simpler for him. This was the second time in his last three games that he received a Sofascore rating of 6.4 or lower.

The Portuguese star might gain some perspective on the types of levels he needs to maintain to keep his place in the team by being replaced by the resurgent Scott McTominay in the more offensive role that has seen him flourish for Scotland.