There were no good performances for Manchester United anywhere you looked at Anfield, but one man is getting it in the neck more than others.
Bruno Fernandes has achieved several impressive things in his career, but he'll now always be the United captain who led his team into a 7-0 defeat at the home of their biggest rivals.
Seven. Nil.
As you'd expect, the criticism has been flowing his way from pundits after a miserable performance full of whining and whinging, with Gary Neville calling Fernandes "embarrassing" and "a shambles" and Chris Sutton branding him "a petulant child".
We asked our Mirror Football team if he should ever captain United again.
Mike Walters
NO!
Capitulation at Anfield was not the first time Bruno Fernandes had gone missing wearing the Manchester United armband.
Towards the end of last season, when they lost 3-1 at Arsenal, his disappearing act when the chips were down should have sounded alarm bells at Old Trafford - but there was nobody at home in the belfry.
When the storm is at its fiercest, I have thought for some time that Fernandes is first in the lifeboat instead of staying on the bridge to direct operations.
And when Liverpool ran riot in the second half, it was a familiar look - pointing fingers, not winning a single tackle that mattered, no leadership. Pay attention, this is your captain sinking.
Unfortunately for United boss Erik ten Hag, there were few plausible alternatives as skipper. David De Gea has never conceded seven before, and it wasn't his finest hour, but you couldn't lay the blame for a rout at his doorstep.
And at least local boy Marcus Rashford looked as if he cared about being humiliated in a deadly rival's back yard.
Bruno Fernandes? Terrific footballer when the going's good, silly hop-skip-and-jump penalty technique, but not captaincy material if United are serious about reclaiming their perch.
John Cross
There is no way Bruno Fernandes should be trusted as Manchester United’s next captain based on his performance at Anfield.
Pride and passion is the least you should expect. His second half surrender was shameful and embarrassing. Certainly not befitting of a United player.
If the captain sets the tone, then what an appalling example.
There has to be an element of freak result about what happened at Anfield. But the one thing you can read into it is character and leadership. Too many United players folded like a pack of cards. They gave up. And Fernandes was the worst example.
His post match interview on Sky wasn’t much better. He sounded like he was reading from a script. Thank the fans, mention Red Devils, bounce back. Tick, tick, tick. Say it like it matters.
Even in the Fergie days, United suffered bad defeats. But would the likes of Keane, Butt, Scholes given up like that? No chance.
When Harry Maguire goes this summer and hands over the armband permanently, go for a leader. Not a quitter.
Neil Moxley
What's new about Bruno Fernandes?
Pundits have laid into him during the past 24 hours, tagging him a 'petulant child.'
Why now? He hasn't changed. He's always been like that. He should have been sent off for pushing the assistant referee towards the end at Anfield, too.
Everyone overlooks his behaviour because Manchester United have been winning football matches.
Fernandes can play. Which is a good job because clearly he's not captaincy material.
Roy Keane would have ordered a shut-down at 3-0, forced United back into their shape and found the intensity to stop Liverpool.
Instead, this Manchester United side just merrily carried on shooting themselves in the foot.
Fernandes's game management - and Erik ten Hag's - was woeful.
Who should get the job?
Probably someone with proper backbone, Lisandro Martinez?
But leader of men, Fernandes? Not a chance - it beggars belief why he got the gig in the first place.
Darren Lewis
You discover most about your leaders - any leader - when you are in the trenches.
In one of the darkest hours of Manchester United’s history on the pitch, Bruno Fernandes went missing.
If Erik ten Hag wanted to make a real statement in reaction to Sunday’s 7-0 defeat to Liverpool, he would remove Fernandes as captain immediately.
No waiting until the summer, or the start of next season. Now.
Fernandes tried to cheat by diving to win a penalty at the expense of Alisson. He appeared upset when Ten Hag didn’t substitute him. You’re the captain. You’re supposed to be the one player who wants to stay on the pitch no matter what.
He clutched his nose and went down feigning injury when Ibrahima Konate had caught him in the chest.
Worst of all, Fernandes was caught by Sky’s TV cameras shoving an assistant referee.
He’s a terrific player and, with seven goals and 11 assists this season he has been an important player in a trophy-winning side. But should he remain an ambassador of a club with the stature of United? No chance. Is he the kind of example you want your kids to follow in the mould of a Rashford, a Varane or a Casemiro? No chance.
That trio had a bad game. You’re allowed to have them. With Fernandes, Sunday was no flash in the pan. He’s done it before but United winning - they’ve won all but five of their games since the end of October - has papered over the cracks. Now Ten Hag has an issue he has to address quickly.
The attitude at the club has for the most part reflected the leadership in the dug out this season. Now it has to start to reflect the leadership on the pitch.
Neil McLeman
Erik ten Hag does not have his problems to seek after the seven-goal humiliation at Anfield.
But the Dutchman faces a big call over the future captaincy of Bruno Fernandes at a club where he has already offloaded Cristiano Ronaldo and demoted Harry Maguire from the starting team.
For all the money spent, United’s performance lacked spirit and leaders. And captain Fernandes personified the problems with his petulance and stupid push on the assistant official.
Stripping the Portuguese midfielder of the armband would also be effectively declaring that Fernandes has no future at Old Trafford and Ten Hag has to decide if he is still wanted in his second season.
Do his playmaking skills still outweigh his tantrums - and will they in the future?
Manchester United have gone from leaders like Steve Bruce and Roy Keane to Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
The immediate choices to be the on-field leader would be David de Gea or Casemiro, who has captained Brazil. But Ten Hag’s rebuilding job at Old Trafford has only just started.
James Nursey
Manchester United had an absolute nightmare on Sunday at Anfield and all their players deserve a big dressing down, including skipper Bruno Fernandes.
But given the club's impressive recent form and cup-winning success, it is hard to believe Erik ten Hag will panic into making major widespread changes immediately.
Fernandes is clearly a very passionate player who demands and expects more from team-mates such is his intense desire to win.
I remember interviewing Yannick Bolasie, who was captained by Fernandes at Sporting Lisbon, about the ace when he was on the verge of moving to Old Trafford.
Bolasie couldn't speak highly enough of Fernandes as a player , a leader and a person.
On this occasion the Portuguese midfielder has let himself down but he has to have a chance to put it right.
It was pretty exceptional circumstances which would have tested the leadership skills of any player but I think he should remain as skipper when Harry Maguire is not in the team.
Sam Meade
Quite simply, no. The Portuguese star gets far too much of a free ride at United - and often has in my opinion. His immediate impact was heightened due to the poor side he arrived in to back in 2020 and he has been able to ride that wave for a long time.
Yes he impacts games on occasion, but when the going gets tough he does anything but rally the troops, if anything it looks like he'd rather leave them behind. Calling out your colleagues and driving standards is one thing, but if that's what Fernandes is trying to do, then he gets it desperately wrong.
There are other candidates standing up, namely Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez, who continue to display leadership qualities on a weekly basis.
Tom Victor
The fact that we’re even debating Bruno Fernandes’ suitability as Manchester United’s on-pitch captain demonstrates the strange relationship English football continues to have with the role.
There are responsibilities for a skipper, sure, but the overvaluing of the leadership of one player - and keenness to judge them against a specific set of qualities - feels outdated.
In other leagues, there has been a push towards a leadership group, with the player who wears the armband simply being a symbolic figurehead rather than a brave soldier leading his men into battle. Refreshingly, Arsenal appear to have taken this approach under Mikel Arteta, with Martin Odegaard far from the only on-pitch leader.
If you’re relying on one heroic leader, be it Fernandes or someone else, you’re always at the mercy of overblown criticism of their every move, and this can’t be healthy. That said, probably let Raphael Varane take over for a bit, I reckon.
Rich Jones
Yes. Clearly, Fernandes was a big part of United's capitulation at Anfield. But he's also been a huge part of turning the culture around.
Long before Erik ten Hag arrived, it was the arrival of Fernandes that drove increased standards at Carrington and sparked a major upturn in United's fortunes.
He wears his heart on his sleeve and, on occasion, his frustrations can boil over and lead to situations like he found himself in against Liverpool. But it's all part of the same personality which means Fernandes brings a hugely positive influence the majority of the time.
Is he the perfect captain? No. But he is a leader in that dressing room and a player comfortable shouldering the responsibility of the captain's armband. Looking at the bigger picture, and not Sunday's capitulation in isolation, it is clear that Fernandes' qualities outweigh his shortcomings when it comes to leading this United side.
Tom Blow
Yes.
I suspect all of my colleagues have said no, so I will offer a counter argument.
Fernandes is undoubtedly one of United's best players and is having a decent season under Ten Hag. We've all have bad days at the office, and he wasn't the only star to struggle at Anfield. He shouldn't be made scapegoat for that display.
The fact Ten Hag gives him the armband speaks volumes. Although you wouldn't have guessed it on Sunday, there are lot of leaders in that United team - most notably Casemiro and Raphael Varane.
Fernandes wants to be their talisman - he wants the captaincy - and should be allowed to flourish. He has done this before - that much is true - but he can't be at his brilliant best every game. Give him a break.
It's one game (albeit a very embarrassing one). Don't be like Gary Neville; don't be like Roy Keane; don't overreact. It's only Monday.
Nathan Ridley
For now, yes.
At 28 - having played for and captained one of Portugal's biggest clubs, and represented his country at three major international tournaments - Bruno Fernandes should be a shining example to his team-mates.
He can be a passionate player and has already driven Manchester United to victory on multiple occasions, but true passion is busting a gut to get back, rallying your side in their darkest hour and not caving in under a third manager in the space of 18 months.
Fernandes wasn't the sole culprit of Sunday's massacre, far from it, with plenty of other well-established players deserving to shoulder the blame, too - and that's where the problem lies. Who else wears the armband in Harry Maguire's absence?
David de Gea wilted when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed him the responsibility in 2019, Marcus Rashford hasn't demonstrated a vast amount of leadership on the pitch and the same goes for Luke Shaw. It's understandably too soon for Casemiro, while Raphael Varane can't be trusted with his long-running injury issues.
The truth is Erik ten Hag doesn't have a better option all things considered. Martin Odegaard has proven at Arsenal that you don't need to have spent a significant amount of time with an elite club to lead them, so Ten Hag might even find his next captain in the transfer market.
Ben Husband
Let's make no bones about it, Fernandes was embarrassing at Anfield. His petulance was rightly called out and his lack of fight was galling for those despondent fans in the away end.
But this felt more like an aberration than a lasting rot. And the simple fact remains that there isn't an obvious candidate to replace him as skipper. Casemiro had a shocker at Anfield and the less said about Lisandro Martinez's performance the better.
Just eight days ago Fernandes was lifting a trophy and being toasted as the club's leader on and off the pitch. Every weekend, the aim of every Premier League team should be to not be the 'club in crisis', for the next few days United find themselves with that moniker. But it will quickly shift again and United's talisman should remain as the man with the armband for now.
Dan Marsh
I'll go against the grain and say yes. While Sunday was far from Bruno Fernandes' finest hour in a Manchester United shirt, that shouldn't negate the influence he has had this season.
I wouldn't say he's exactly back to the remarkable levels he showed in the immediate aftermath of his switch from Sporting Lisbon, but he's been a different player under Erik ten Hag and has played his part in United's recent turnaround.
Yes, it's no secret that Fernandes is a desperately sore loser - but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing for Manchester United, who have been trying to rediscover that winning mentality.
In addition to that, Fernandes' best form for the club preceded the return of Cristiano Ronaldo and I get the impression he thrives off of being the main man.
It might not feel like it in the immediate aftermath of the Liverpool result, but United could do a lot worse than hand Fernandes the armband on a permanent basis in the summer - other than perhaps Casemiro, it's hardly like Ten Hag is inundated with other options, either.
Kieran King
I think he can be trusted. Yes, his actions at Anfield were questionable but at least he took some responsibility by speaking about United’s performance in his post-match interview.
United fans would prefer he performed on the pitch, however, I think he showed some guts to come out after such a humiliating defeat. Not many would go and do that - even club captain Harry Maguire didn’t after the 4-0 loss at Brentford.
He also showed a great deal of passion and at least looked like he wanted to pull United back in the game. Also, Fernandes is an ever present in the team and usually backs that up with excellent performances.
I don’t think he should be judged on one display, and if he does cut out some minor behavioural issues on the pitch, Fernandes could be a United captain for years to come.
Mark Jones
It had just gone 3-0 on Sunday when Bruno Fernandes challenged Ibrahima Konate in the air, then raced to pick up the ball after it had gone out, thinking he'd won a corner. It was a goal kick.
Moments later came the slip from Alisson which almost allowed the Portuguese in, only for the goalkeeper to recover and Fernandes to suggest that he'd been fouled after closing him down.
On both occasions the United skipper absolutely lost it.
For the first he berated official Andy Madley, presumably because he thought he should be refereeing the game himself, then for the second he turned his attention to the Liverpool fans who were, as you'd expect, absolutely loving the pantomime. This was exactly what Anfield thrives on.
The point is that this was *only* 3-0 and there was plenty of time left. United were their own worst enemies when they could have shut up shop, or even nicked a goal to worry Liverpool somewhat. Then the floodgates opened.
Was that Fernandes' fault? No, not entirely. But he wasn't setting the best example for his team at a time when they could have used calm heads. This is supposed to be a better, stronger United who are on the way back to the top after all, and they didn't react like that.
I don't see what taking the armband from him really does though, and in fact it removes the prospect of this being a teachable moment for a United side who need to remember to walk before they can run.
