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Watch Bruno Fernandes closely. You’ll have little doubt that the Manchester United midfielder is world-class, and currently the best in his position in the Premier League.
On Saturday, the Portuguese once again showed his class. He came off the bench at half-time and inspired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side to a 3-1 comeback win against West Ham United.
Manchester United had no fans at the Olympic Stadium, but the Hammers' fans who were present can't claim to have enjoyed the midfielder’s performance. If there were Reds in the stands, “Bruno!” “Bruno!” “Bruno!” would have been the unanimous anthem after full-time.
Rarely do players come into the Premier League and dominate the division as easily as Fernandes has done. His assimilation into the English game has been seamless.
He’s the main reason why Manchester United currently occupy fourth place in the Premier League and are still in with a chance of reaching the Champions League Round of 16.
Bruno Fernandes magic ignites Manchester United's comeback at West Ham
For a player who was only introduced in the second half, Fernandes came on and totally transformed the game. The 26-year-old entered the field when the Red Devils were trailing, due to a Tomas Soucek goal.
At that point, Manchester United were lifeless and didn't create chances upfront. All that changed when Bruno stepped on the pitch.
His link-up play was excellent, his through passes were always a threat to the West Ham defense, and his energy and high press helped the Reds put the hosts under constant pressure.
A criticism of his game has been that he loses the ball too often, but the truth is that he is a risk-taker. For every missed pass, he perfectly makes up for it with an assist or by delivering the pass before the assist.
This was exactly what Bruno Fernandes did against David Moyes’ side on Saturday. He provided the assist for Paul Pogba’s equaliser and then freed up Mata, who in turn threaded a through ball to Marcus Rashford to wrap up a 3-1 win.
Since the Portuguese star moved to Old Trafford, Manchester United have won more points in the league than any other side. Surely, there hasn’t been a more important impact by a single player in the English top-flight this year.
He's an impact player of world-class quality
Fernandes was on the pitch for just 45 minutes against West Ham, but created eight chances, more than every Manchester United player combined.
Fernandes is also the player with the most chances created in Europe’s top five leagues so far this season, having created 35 chances. His cameo against the Hammers saw him rack up some more impressive statistics.
According to Squawka, he’s now the Manchester United player with the most chances created across the past four seasons. He also currently stands as the player with the joint-most chances created in an away Premier League game in the past four seasons.
Also, Fernandes boasts the joint-most chances created by a player who played 45 or fewer minutes in a single game in the Premier League. However, he is the kind of player that some believe is a “penalty merchant."
Add all of these to the fact that Fernandes has now scored seven goals and provided four assists in the Premier League this season. It’s clear that he’s currently above everyone else in his position.
There’s more to his game than just the goals, assists, or other stats. He’s the kind of player that makes everyone around him better, and has consistently shown that since joining the Reds.
