Manchester United slumped to a narrow defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, which leaves them languishing in 15th place in the Premier League.
There was just one goal in it, James Maddison’s first-half strike proving to be the difference between the two struggling clubs on Sunday.
The result laid bare once again United’s troubles in front of goal, where missed chances and a sloppy final product let them down badly.
As always, Bruno Fernandes was at the heart of everything good Ruben Amorim’s side tried in the final third, playing four key passes – nobody on the pitch made more – and creating one big chance.
Drifting out wide, the Portuguese whipped in 11 crosses, four of which found their man, and an impressive 13 of his 17 attempted long balls were accurate.
As usual, Fernandes’ role as United’s playmaker-in-chief yielded a fairly low passing accuracy as he tried the risky ball to try and make things happen.
Today, he completed 54 of his attempted 69 passes giving him a passing accuracy rate of 78%.
With Amorim’s squad suddenly decimated by injuries, Fernandes started further back, as part of a midfield pairing with Casemiro, and this seemed to alter the dynamics of United’s build-up.
No player touched the ball more than the United captain, who took 103 touches – numbers usually associated with one of the centre-backs.
Fernandes is no stranger to getting involved defensively and today was no exception. His six tackles were bettered only by Casemiro’s seven, and he made two interceptions and two clearances.
The result was a hammer blow to United’s league progress, making it just two wins in their last six games in the competition.
Next up is a difficult trip to a resurgent Everton, who leapfrogged United in the league this weekend.
All stats taken from sofascore.
Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
