Man Utd news: Marouane Fellaini is horrible to play against – Steven Gerrard

Fellaini has become a cult hero in recent weeks at Manchester United.

The Belgian has been backed by Jose Mourinho to perform and has repaid his manager’s faith.

Fellaini scored twice in United’s 4-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Crystal Palace today.

Gerrard played against the midfield giant numerous times during his Liverpool career, mostly in Merseyside derbies when Fellaini was at Everton.

He says he is a great alternative option for Jose Mourinho when his initial game-plan doesn’t work. 

“He’s horrible (to play against),” he said on BT Sport.

“He’s a handful, even when he was at Everton, he was a little bit further forward.

“He used to back in, get flick-ons, hold the ball up. 

“The key here is that the manager loves him. 

“He’s always going on record praising him. 

“I think he’s been quite clever keeping him as a plan B because sometimes you can try all the class and all the nice bits, but sometimes you need to go ugly, you need to go direct, you need to have a plan B. 

“He’s certainly Manchester United’s plan B and he’s very effective.”