Man Utd: Pogba is a better player than Fernandes says pundit
Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has praised Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba for their penalty taking technique, admitting he himself could never be so composed. The Red Devils duo have both scored from 12 yards for the club. And they’ve also been compared to Real Madrid star Eden Hazard.
Fernandes only joined United from Sporting Lisbon in January but has already scored two penalties for the club.
He found the net in the Red Devils’ 3-0 win over Watford and was also on target as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side battered Club Brugge 5-0 at Old Trafford.
United star Paul Pogba has also scored from 12 yards for the club throughout his spell at the Theatre of Dreams.
And Giggs has now heralded the pair, telling beIN SPORTS that he focused solely on his own technique, rather than the goalkeeper’s.
He said: "My technique with penalty taking was - you know you see players looking at the goalkeeper?
"Eden Hazard - I mean he's amazing, he just goes up so slowly, and even Bruno Fernandes now with a little hop.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
"I could never do that. My philosophy was: 'I'm putting it low into the corner - even if the goalkeeper goes the right way, he's not gonna save it if I execute it right'.
"That was my philosophy, so it doesn't matter if he went the right way or not. If I do low, side-netting, he shouldn't be able to save it.
"That was my philosophy, rather than looking at the goalkeeper, trying to play mind games and having the confidence which Hazard and Bruno Fernandes [have]. Pogba did for a while that slow run up. I could never do that."
Giggs had a stunning career for United, donning the club’s red and white colours 963 times.
And his biggest penalty kick came when they beat Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League final via a penalty shoot-out.
Giggs was seventh on the list that night in Moscow.
Carlos Tevez, Michael Carrick, Cristiano Ronaldo, Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson all stepped up before the Wales boss.
And he revealed that was because of how good his team-mates were at them. Ronaldo was the only player who missed for the Red Devils.
"Because I'd come on as sub, I think beforehand they'd already done the list of penalty takers, and we had some good penalty takers," Giggs added.
"We had [Carlos] Tevez, Cristiano - who missed, we had Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves - obviously with his German background at Bayern he was never going to miss.
"So we had some really good penalty takers before as well. Some penalty takers who would be penalty takers in open play."