Bruno Fernandes was pleased to revel in Liverpool’s misery after helping Manchester United secure the last place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Fernandes scored as United eased to a 4-1 victory against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
The win moved them onto 72 points and meant they are guaranteed to finish in the top four, regardless of what happens on the last day of the campaign on Sunday.
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Casemiro headed them into the lead from Eriksen’s free-kick before Martial tapped in Sancho’s cross to make it 2-0 before the break.
Fernandes converted a penalty after being tripped by Fofana and Marcus Rashford netted a rebound before Joao Felix grabbed a consolation goal.
The Red Devils are third, two points above Newcastle United, going into their last game against Fulham, while Liverpool will play in the Europa League next season after finishing fifth.
Fernandes said his focus was on his own team, but admitted that denying Liverpool a place in the Champions League did sweeten things.
“We know that means a lot, for us it’s about getting our goals completed so we did,” he told Sky Sports. “Obviously we knew they [the fans] would be happy for Liverpool to not be there but for us it’s not about that, it’s getting the best we can for ourselves because we have to look after ourselves.”
That message was hammered home by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who fired out an emotional tweet after the Manchester United result.
He wrote: “I’m totally devastated. There’s absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed.
“We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum. I am sorry but it’s too soon for an uplifting or optimistic post. We let you and ourselves down.”
“It’s decent, it’s not perfect because we want more,” he said. “For what we did this season it’s great – one trophy and we get the top four, that was our goal after deciding we couldn’t go for the Premier League. Now it’s about finishing really well and going to the FA Cup and winning.”
