Alan Shearer believes Manchester United "look stale" in attack without Bruno Fernandes to call upon.
The midfielder was only on the bench for United's FA Cup game against Leicester City on Sunday and was sent on by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with 35 minutes left in order to try and find a way back into the contest with his side 2-1 down.
Despite forcing a fine save from Kasper Schmeichel from a free-kick, Fernandes was unable to inspire a comeback as United suffered a 3-1 defeat to exit the competition at the quarter-final stage.
Speaking on the BBC post-match, Shearer criticised United's performance, arguing they looked tired after their midweek exploits against AC Milan in the Europa League.
The former England forward acknowledged that Solskjaer had tried to freshen things up by rotating his side for the game but said that, without Fernandes, they lack guile and quality in attack to unlock defences.
He said: “They looked very, very tired.
“ They couldn’t cope with the pace that Leicester showed this evening, even with the changes that came on, that didn’t make them any better. It was a really flat and poor performance from them.”
He added: “Leicester had more of a spring in their step than Manchester United.
“Understandable? Yes, but he did try and change it up with leaving a few players out and bringing players in.
“One of those was Fernandes and when he’s not in the team, they don’t quite have that brilliance or someone who can unlock the door.
“I thought they were pretty stale going forward.”
