Skip to Main NavigationSkip to content
Saturday 15 March 2025 10:00
Bruno Fernandes has revealed to Inside United how he is trying to turn the tables on goalkeepers, when it comes to penalties.
While much has been made of the fact the men between the sticks closely study the takers, down to the minute detail of their previous preferences, our skipper told the latest edition of the official club magazine that he takes time to analyse the goalkeepers and how they act during spot-kicks.
Fernandes’s two spot-kicks, as part of his hat-trick against Real Sociedad on Thursday night, tighten his grip on a club record that is already his own.
The Portugal international notched his 35th and 36th successful conversions for the Reds, moving him further ahead of the player to have scored the next-most penalties for United, Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman, now in charge of our next opponents Leicester City, bagged 28 of his 150 United goals from the spot.
In a big exclusive interview in Inside United, released this week, Bruno discussed his penalty-taking record, revealing how much thought and preparation goes into each opportunity he gets from 12 yards – and how he works to keep goalkeepers guessing.
“When you take so many penalties, then you need to change, because the goalkeepers start looking at you, studying you,” the skipper says in the in-depth magazine interview. “So as they do that, I do the same as them. I study them.”
Bruno says that he looks at how goalkeepers have faced spot-kicks previously, and decides on which technique is likely to be the most successful.
“I see all the different penalty-takers that they have against them. I see what is the accuracy of them. I feel more comfortable doing the jump and waiting for the goalkeeper to make a decision. I think this is the more accurate one. But if I have to change it, I do it differently, to not give anything away to them.
“You can still miss but, at least, you know, everything you’re doing is for a reason and, obviously everyone is different.”
Bruno goes on to speak in more depth about spot-kicks and you can read the full interview in the April edition of Inside United, on sale now in shops and newsagents, at Old Trafford on matchdays, and available to buy online here.
All-time most penalties scored for United
1. Bruno Fernandes – 36
2. Ruud van Nistelrooy – 28
3. Wayne Rooney- 27
4. Cristiano Ronaldo – 21
5. Eric Cantona – 18
5. Albert Quixall – 18
Recommended:
Saturday 15 March 2025 10:00
Back to Top
