OLD TRAFFORD — Scientists could study that Bruno Fernandes strike for years to come and still struggle to prove how he forced the ball into the roof of Istanbul Basaksehir goalkeeper Mert Gunok’s net from that position. The speed. The trajectory. The angle. It all seemed impossible as the ball flew towards him.
Players could try similar attempts a hundred times and still never replicate it, still fail to produce the same result as Fernandes when Alex Telles’s corner was headed out of the box by Alexandru Epureanu.
Simply put, you shouldn’t be able to hit the roof of the net from there. Either the ball blazes over, the crossbar gets in the way, the goalkeeper saves, or it hits the back of the net.
Somehow, Fernandes found the roof. Somehow, Fernandes has done a lot of things at Manchester United, the one consistent constant in this frustratingly inconsistent side.
They should qualify for the next round of the Champions League, top of Group H after beating Istanbul Basaksehir, but given results under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, that is still not a given. They should be higher than 10th in the Premier League, but four wins have been hindered by three draws and a defeat.
Thrilling victories against RB Leipzig, as of a month ago at Old Trafford, are rendered less impressive by inexplicable defeats to relatively little-known Turkish clubs, as they were subjected to in the reverse fixture against last night’s opponents, or the 1-6 humiliation at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
Through it all, however, Fernandes has maintained a remarkable record since the £47million move from Sporting Lisbon in January. (Was that really this year? 2020 has felt a really long time.)
Significantly involved in 34 goals in 35 appearances, Fernandes has 21 goals and 13 assists notched on his United belt so far. Those sorts of numbers are more associated with wingers and strikers, not an attacking midfielder.
Significantly involved in 34 goals in 35 appearances, Fernandes has 21 goals and 13 assists notched on his United belt so far. Those sorts of numbers are more associated with wingers and strikers, not an attacking midfielder.
These days, you expect a player of such talent to end up at Manchester City or Liverpool. Yet, weirdly, for a player of his quality he doesn’t quite fit into Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp’s sides. Manchester City have Kevin De Bruyne, a very similar player positionally and in approach, and Liverpool don’t tend to play with a midfielder of quite his mould.
Watch Fernandes closely, he has this way of creeping away from opponents and into space: there, and then gone, in a split second, leaving defenders staring around wild-eyed when the ball is passed into a player in a dangerous position they thought they were man-marking. And he uses that freedom with such intelligence: flicks that are not fanciful and wasteful, fast feet, touches and turns, quick passes.
He combined particularly well with Edinson Cavani, the striker making his first Manchester United start, the pair seeming to sense one another’s positions and runs. On 12 minutes, Fernandes, back to goal, flicked a pass from Donny Van De Beek into Cavani, who flicked it back. Fernandes sent the ball at an unexpected angle through Istanbul Basaksehir’s defence and Marcus Rashford slotted it under their goalkeeper. The only travesty was that the linesman raised his flag for offside.
Fernandes crept into that space for his and United’s second. Granted, he was gifted the goal by Gunok, who let a fairly simple cross from Telles slip from his grasp. But there was Fernandes, lurking, free, a few yards from goal or any other player, for the tap-in.
There has been some criticism levelled at Fernandes that he only scores penalties. In this game, he wasn’t even allowed to take it when Rashford was shoved over by Boli Bolingoli in Istanbul Basaksehir’s penalty area, 10 minutes before half-time.
Standing on the precipice of his first United hat-trick, Fernandes scooped up the ball, ready to take it. Then Rashford pinched the ball from him and took it instead, rolling the penalty to the right as Gunok dived the other way.
Fernandes had handed the ball over reluctantly and looked a touch put-out, to put it mildly, during the short delay while the Video Assistant Referee checked Rashford was not offside leading up to the foul, but the Portuguese celebrated with his successful team-mate, nonetheless.
Fernandes is 26 years old and the sort of player great squads can be built around. That said, it is difficult to tell if United lack the players around Fernandes already to challenge back at the top, or if Solskjaer simply doesn’t know how to coach them sufficiently.
Throughout the squad they have quality individuals, but something is not quite right. Even here, when they conceded Deniz Turuc’s free kick, they threatened to crumble, until Dan James scored in stoppage time.
United – and Solskjaer – will not have too long to work out what’s wrong, before Fernandes would start, naturally, looking elsewhere for the trophies and prestige his talents deserve.
Follow i sport on Facebook for more Man Utd news, interviews and features
More on Man Utd
- The making of Marcus Rashford: the Man Utd star who never forgot his roots
- 5 contenders to replace Solskjaer as next Man Utd manager
- Why United are prepared to play the long-game in pursuit of Sancho
- Kevin Garside: Well done to Chadwick for reminding us all to be kind
- Man Utd need Cavani to be another Cantona – but even that may not save Solskjaer
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2KxPmBr
Post a Comment