Did Bruno Fernandes' secret tactic backfire against Liverpool?

Manchester United fans have raised questions over whether the positioning of referee Anthony Taylor in Sunday's defeat against Liverpool stopped the hosts from playing their best football.

Erik ten Hag's side were humiliated by their rivals at Old Trafford as Luis Diaz and Mo Salah combined to score three goals without answer in front of a booing United crowd.

Defeat see's United head into the international break with just one win and two defeats from their opening three Premier League fixtures and their performance against Liverpool has come in for fierce criticism.

Brazilian midfielder Casemiro was at fault for Liverpool's two opening goals as he twice gave possession away cheaply inside United's half that led to Diaz scoring twice in the first-half.

A dismal second 45 minutes saw United carved open by Liverpool as the INEOS-backed club underwhelmed in a match that bears similarities to last season's struggles.

United captain Bruno Fernandes struggled to make his usual creative impact as Liverpool's defenders comfortably marshalled a frontline of Marcus Rashford, Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho.

However, footage has now showed that Fernandes was potentially limited from making key passes in decisive moments of the match due to the space occupied by referee, Taylor.

The Portuguese playmaker previously revealed how he matches runs made by referees to escape the view of opposition players when he is trying to exploit space in attacking areas.

Speaking in a former interview with The Athletic, Fernandes said: 'Normally, I call these the 'referee zone'.

'Because nobody marks the referee. Sometimes, this is what the coaches say to players who play between the lines, or the wingers who want to come inside, or the striker when he wants to drop. 

'It also depends on the way an official referees the game. Mike Dean, for example, ran very centrally, which was probably for him better to see the game, but for us as a No 10, that cannot be our position, so you have to find out where you can go,' he added.

But, his bizarre tactic may have caused more harm than good against Liverpool when he found his path blocked by Taylor when attempting to make a pass in behind for Garnacho to run onto.

The match was goalless at the time when Fernandes sought to play the lobbed ball, but when the moment came to fruition, Taylor attempted to duck out of the way and Fernandes instead had to pass back to Casemiro. He lost the ball and Liverpool scored seconds later.

Taylor's awkward positioning was also referenced when Casemiro lost the ball in the build-up to Liverpool's second goal. The match official was in the direct line of Casemiro's vision and partially blocked his view of Zirkzee who was ready to receive the ball. 

Again, the defensive midfielder conceded possession and Diaz doubled Liverpool's lead moments later.

United supporters were split on Taylor's influence on the match in a fierce social media debate where some blamed him and others ridiculed the suggestion of his interference.

One post rejecting the claim, stated on X: 'The ref can have his share blame for this but I don’t think it’s due to him that we lost the game.'

Another added: 'Let's not blame referee there! It was individual mistakes and Ten Hag's idiotic in game substitutions that cost us the 3 points.'