Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes has revealed he passed up the opportunity to score a Champions League hat-trick to help the confidence of team-mate Marcus Rashford.
The Portuguese star scored twice in the Red Devils 4-1 rout of Istanbul Basaksehir at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening – with Rashford’s spot kick and Daniel James’ late strike putting the finishing touches on a solid performance.
Fernandes’ two goals came in the opening 20 minutes as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side got off to a flying start, but when Rashford was felled in the penalty area, the Portuguese handed the ball to his team-mate to get on the scoresheet instead of going for the hat-trick himself.
“Of course every player wants a hat-trick,” Fernandes told BT Sport post-match.
“But after the game in the Premier League I told Rashford that he could take the next one so I remembered that and also he’s one of the top scorers in the Champions League so it’s important for him to get the confidence.
“It doesn’t matter who takes the penalty as long as the team scores.”