1 goal, 6 key passes, 8 shots: United hero reached massive landmark with colossal display in triumph over Spurs

Manchester United made it four wins on the bounce with a free-flowing 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. The Red Devils overwhelmed their visitors, who went down to ten men after half an hour when Cristian Romero fouled Casemiro. Michael Carrick’s team took a first-half lead through Bryan Mbeumo but huffed and puffed in pursuit of a second to make the points secure, Bruno Fernandes finally doubling the advantage with ten minutes to go. Captain fantastic Fernandes deserved to get his name on the scoresheet and did so with an improvised finish from a Diogo Dalot cross. He peppered the goal throughout the game and in total had two shots on target, two shots off target and four blocked. The Portuguese was typically creative, and his six key passes was at least two more than anyone else on the pitch managed. One of these passes created a big chance, and he was unlucky not to secure an assist. Landmark day for Bruno Fernandes’ goal was a landmark for the player, who has now had 200 goal involvements since joining United – 104 goals and 96 assists. He was an important man for his team again today, taking 83 touches – only three team-mates took more. The 31-year-old found his man with 52 of 61 passes, recording a success rate of 85%. United spent most of the match on the front foot, meaning Fernandes was seldom called upon for defensive contributions – he made none today, a rare blank for an all-action player. He won two of four contested ground duels and completed one of two attempted dribbles. Bruno Fernandes vs. Spurs PlayerBruno Fernandes Goals1 Expected goals (xG)0.71 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.53 Big chances created1 Key passes6 Crosses (accurate)6 (1) Accurate passes52/61 (85%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)36/45 (80%) Passes in own half (acc.)16/16 (100%) Long balls (accurate)3/4 (75%) Total shots8 Expected goals on target (xGOT)0.32 Shots on target2 Shots blocked4 Offsides1 Touches83 Dribbles (successful)2 (1) Was fouled1 Possession lost15 Total carrying distance148.7 m Carries15 Progressive carries3 Total progression89.3 m Progressive carrying distance62.1 m Longest progressive carry27.4 m Def. contributions0 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances0 Blocked shots0 Recoveries3 Ground duels (won)4 (2) Fouls1 Dribbled past0 All stats taken from sofascore. Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social 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. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.