Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has accused Bruno Fernandes of being "too soft" despite his impressive showing against Leeds United.
Fernandes, 27, scored on the stroke of half time and assisted Anthony Elanga as the Red Devils defeated their rivals 4-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.
It was far from plain sailing for Ralf Rangnick's side, who gave up their two-goal lead in the space of two minutes and required heroics off the bench from Fred and Elanga to emerge from Elland Road with three points.
Rodrigo halved the deficit early in the second half and Raphinha equalised seconds later with a goal which left the visitors, and Fernandes in particular, aggrieved.
The Portuguese playmaker felt he deserved a free kick after Adam Forshaw challenged him in the build-up, and he was still on the floor as Raphinha poked in Daniel James' cross.
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However, Scholes insists there was no foul on Fernandes and he must show more grit while receiving the ball in his own defensive third.
"I think Fernandes has to be stronger," the former England midfielder told Premier League Productions, per Metro. "He's almost looking for a foul before anything happens and I don't think it is a foul.
"Fernandes has got to be stronger there, that's a little bit too soft. His head is up in the air looking for a foul before he comes in."
Fernandes saw the incident very differently and claimed Forshaw stamped on his standing foot before the Englishman released James on the left of the penalty area.
"I think it was a foul because when I passed the ball with my right foot he stamped on my left," Fernandes told MUTV.
"Obviously, I didn't see if he touched the ball when I made the pass. It's England, no? It's English football so I have to get used to it, it's okay."
Fernandes' goal, a header set up by Jadon Sancho's cross on the counter-attack, was his ninth of the season, while he also has 13 assists to his name.
Meanwhile, victory in West Yorkshire saw the Red Devils cement their place in the top four as fifth-placed West Ham dropped points in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United.
However, Arsenal, Wolves and Tottenham are still in hot pursuit of Champions League qualification and each of the trio won their own games over the weekend.
The Gunners defeated Brentford 2-1, Wolves beat Leicester via the same scoreline and Spurs caused a huge upset by winning 3-2 at Manchester City.
