When Manchester United score a goal, it has become quite normal to assume that Bruno Fernandes either did it or did it.
He has 23 goals this season in all competitions and 13 assists, more than anyone else this season in both divisions of the club, and has been influential in bringing them to second place in the league and the Europa League quarter-finals.
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Since you signed for the club in January 2020, it would be difficult to find someone who would argue that he has not been United’s best player. He won the fans’ player of the year last season despite going halfway, and this year he has ended where he left off.
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– Manchester United (@ManUtd) 18 September 2020
In the first ten games of the season, Fernandez scored six goals and recorded five assists. In the ten matches after that, he scored seven goals and registered two assists. He then had a blip, where he scored three and helped two in the next ten games – a period of play in which United only won five out of ten.
He then regained form, scoring six times and scoring three assists in his next six games as United won four of six, including a record 9-0 victory over Southampton and the impressive 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
Since then, Fernandes has become cold once again with just one goal and an assist in his next eight games for the club. The Reds have won only three of the eight matches, which proves that when Fernandes does not shoot at all cylinders, the whole team fights.
Fernandes leads the way for goals and assists for Manchester United this season Pool / Getty Images
If United are to go all the way in the Europa League as they are expected to do, they will have 15 games left to play this season. They still have to play Tottenham, Leeds United, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Leicester and Wolves in the Premier League, while a two-legged match with Granada will be followed by a two-legged match against either Roma or Ajax if they succeed.
With so many great matches left to play, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will need his best players at the top of their game, and none more so than Fernandes.
When he is singing, no one is more influential. He sets the pace of the attacks, he creates more chances than anyone else and he scores goals. In addition, he works relentlessly in defensive phases and covers more ground than anyone else on the team as well.
The rest of the season, however, can not be put on his shoulders – he needs support. The return to fitness at Paul Pogba will be very helpful, while Marcus Rashford’s form has been good for the most part this season as well.
Fernandes and Pogba can lead Man Utd in honor of Jonathan Moscrop / Getty Images
Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial must quickly find form again if United are also to finish strong, but Fernande’s form should be the first port of call for the boss to address.
The 26-year-old should find himself well rested now after playing in two of Portugal’s March matches and should be new in the last leg.
It’s clear as day that Manchester United know how to get the best out of Fernandes and they know how to get results, having lost just four of their last 30 games in all competitions. But they need their best players to really get the job done.
Only Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah have done more than Fernandes, and only Kane and Kevin De Bruyne have more assists in the Premier League this season. If he is to catch them, United will have a much better chance of doing well in the final leg of the campaign.
