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The question has been asked numerous times since he debuted in this match 11 months ago. Where would Manchester United be without Bruno Fernandes?
When the club’s new £ 68m signing was launched against Wolves just six days after joining from Sporting Lisbon, and with United in a bit of turmoil, no one expected the Portuguese player to have the impact he has.
That game ended scoreless and this one too was heading in that direction until Fernandes launched the late attack that led United to win in Marcus Rashford’s injury time.
It’s hard to think of a player who has had such a transformative effect on a team.
“He has instantly improved them a lot,” Amazon expert Steve McManaman said Tuesday night. “When Wayne (Rooney) and (Eric) Cantona got together they were the best team, but Bruno Fernandes has dragged them forward and made them a better team.”
The 26-year-old has become a talisman for a United team that has no shortage of big-name players. He has played in all 29 Premier League games for the club since meeting Wolves on his debut, starting 28 of them.
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made the bold decision to put Fernandes on West Ham’s bench earlier this month, he had to bring him in at halftime with United with one goal less. They won 3-1.
In those 29 games, he participated directly in 32 goals: he scored 18 and established another 14.
But Solskjaer knows better, the statistics don’t tell the whole story. “The goals, the assists, the numbers that he has produced and the chances that he creates, but also the will to win,” said the United manager before the first leg last night.
“He has an incredible hunger to play football and win. He’s not just here to play football and have fun, he’s here to win. ”
Another of Fernandes’ great strengths is that he is not afraid of taking risks. No one gives the ball away anymore and it can be expensive at times, as happened when United returned to Leicester on Saturday.
But he has the creativity and unpredictability to unlock opponents like no other United player.
This was not Fernandes’ best performance in a way, which could explain why United were also disappointing.
And he actually blew United’s best opportunity of the first half, brushing a volley directly at Rui Patricio when Mason Greenwood picked him at the back post.
But Fernandes did not drop his head. It did not get out of the game. He demanded more the ball, he moved more around the field trying to find a breakthrough for his team. It was no surprise that his pass to the bottom in overtime led to the late winner.
Heading into 2021 and the first anniversary of his move to United, he remains the leading man.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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