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Bruno Fernandes has made it clear he does not need to be the “main man” at Manchester United, though he admits he wants to score more goals.
The midfielder curled home a stunning effort in his side’s 2-0 victory against Tottenham on Wednesday, his first at Old Trafford this season.
Fernandes scored 18 Premier League goals during his first full season at United, along with 12 assists, but those numbers decreased last term to 10 goals and six assists, leading to some scrutiny of his performances.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game against Spurs, Fernandes conceded he needs to be an influence on the attacking play but his main focus is on the team’s results.
“I was concerned because I want to score goals, and I wasn’t getting my goals but it was not my main focus,” he said.
“The team was getting good results, the last one [against Newcastle United] was not a good result, we want to win every game, but for me, when the team is winning, it’s perfect.
“As an individual, I want to get goals and assists, it’s part of the game and the position that I play. I need to have that.”
During Amazon’s coverage, Patrice Evra suggested to Fernandez that he plays better as the “main man” when the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo are not in the side, though the United midfielder made it clear he does not see it that way.
“I don’t like the phrase ‘being the main man’. I know when some players are on the pitch, I respect their positions and I know I will need to do different things to get the best out of them. I don’t have any problems to sacrifice myself to get the best out of my team-mates.”
United’s win against Spurs came after a relentless assault on Hugo Lloris’ goal, with the hosts totalling 28 shots throughout the game as they played out Erik ten Hag’s instructions.
“Everyone knows the manager wants to play with intensity, with pressure, to play as high as possible so that whenever we recover the ball, we are closer to the goal,” Fernandes explained.
“Obviously, you get frustrated when you don’t get the goals, we had many chances in the first half, but the belief of the team makes us win the game today.
“The reaction when we lost the ball up front was probably the most important thing today.”
