Manchester United escaped from a bouncing Goodison Park with a point after a thrilling second-half fightback against Everton last Saturday.
The visitors looked dead and buried up till the 70th minute before skipper Bruno Fernandes stepped up to bury his free-kick which instantly galvanised the team.
He started the game as an attacking midfielder before moving back to play as a deep-lying playmaker once Casemiro went off in the second half.
And towards the end of the game, the Portuguese superstar was almost playing like a box-to-box midfielder, defending deep in his own territory before bombing forward to help with the attack.
Bruno’s consistency is unparalled
His stats speak for themselves. Despite the club languishing in 15th place, the club captain reached double figures in both goals and assists for the season.
In fact, he has crossed that milestone in every season since his move from Lisbon to Manchester, showcasing his consistency and world-class ability.
Despite his tremendous displays, Fernandes has continued to attract criticism, often unfairly, for how he reacts on the pitch both with teammates and referees.
But he has now received support from former United legend Rio Ferdinand who has claimed that the 30-year-old is sometimes the only player fighting for the badge and his angry reactions are justified.
“Bruno Fernandes is massively disrespected. All this talk about him not being captain material is trying to look for negatives in his game,” Ferdinand said on the latest episode of his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
“Since he’s come, 28 goals, 18 assists in his first season, that’s 46 goal involvements. Ten goals and 13 assists in his second season. Third season, 14 goals, 13 assists. He’s got ten now and 12 assists. That says to me and it’s screaming one thing: consistency, output. This is what this guy brings and delivers.
Rio backs Bruno
“Some of the things he gets called out for, his body language etcetera… yeah, there could be improvements there, but that is borne out of frustration, that’s borne out of not being helped.
“That’s borne out of, ‘You know what? I’m f***ing doing my job here’, look at the stats! No player has created more chances since he signed for Manchester United in the Premier League, by the way. Not Kevin De Bruyne, nobody. He’s created more chances than anybody since he signed.”
“If you’re putting a human touch on that, you would be frustrated, you would be p***ed off that the club are signing players that haven’t been able to deliver.”
Fernandes has always delivered and has never been found wanting in terms of effort. United are lucky to have someone like him at the club.
Fans will be hoping he can deliver against Ipswich Town on Wednesday as well as the Red Devils look to avoid a relegation scrap.
Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
