MY ACCOUNT
Bruno Fernandes is back to his best for Manchester United and proving his doubters wrong.
With three goals and three assists in all competitions since the turn of the year, the Portuguese playmaker is reinforcing how integral he is to United’s cause.
Ahead of this afternoon’s trip across the Pennines to face bitter rivals Leeds, we take a look at what is behind the midfield maestro’s resurgence.
Class is permanent
With his goal against Brighton in midweek — which sealed a 2-0 win for United and moved them into fourth — Fernandes, 27, showed what an elite operator and great entertainer he is.
Having bamboozled Seagulls defender Joel Veltman and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, he expertly scooped the ball into the net while off-balance for his eighth goal of the season.
They say form is temporary and class is permanent — and there has never been any doubt about the latter in Fernandes’ case.
Unfair criticism?
Fernandes had been criticised by some for having a poor campaign — but was that justified? A look at his goal contribution figures would suggest not.
Granted, in terms of setting up goals, his output is down slightly on last season. He provided 12 league assists at a rate of 0.35 per 90 minutes in 2020-21 but only five at 0.22 per 90 this time around.
But the Porto native is performing better when it comes to scoring himself. He may have netted 18 Premier League goals in 2020-21 but half of those were penalties.
Having missed his only spot kick this season, none of his eight goals have come via that method — meaning his non-penalty goals per 90 have actually increased from 0.26 to 0.35.
Digging deeper
By digging deeper into the data, we can see Fernandes has been virtually as creative this season as he was last, further undermining the criticism he has come in for.
He has created big chances at a rate of 0.53 per 90 so far this term, which is only a slight reduction from his average of 0.58 per 90 in 2020-21.
Among United players to play the equivalent of five full games or more, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba rank next best for big chance creation with an average of 0.33 per 90.
Fernandes is still his side’s key creative conduit.
Future-proof
Even if he has not quite matched his levels from last season, Fernandes is still arguably United’s best player.
There was no natural role for him in Ralf Rangnick’s preferred 4-2-2-2 set-up — but with the interim boss switching to more of a 4-3-3 recently, he looks right at home again.
The team may still be a work in progress but with his world-class quality, Fernandes can be a crucial constant in United’s bid to get back to where they feel they belong.
Medals on his mind
In an interview last month, Fernandes reasserted his burning desire for silverware and suggested United could yet go all the way in the Champions League.
He said: “My ambition is still the same. I want to win trophies with the club. That will always be in my mind until the last day I am at the club.
“I don’t care what people think or can say about us winning the Champions League. I think we have the chance to win it, the qualities to win it.”
If the Red Devils are to win a trophy this campaign, Fernandes is sure to be at the forefront of their efforts.
