Bruno Fernandes and his teammates just won their 4th consecutive victory under Michael Carrick. After the match, when asked if the Portuguese midfielder was the best player in the Premier League at the moment, Carrick said "it is completely possible to consider it so".
In the recent victory, Bruno scored the goal to seal the score 2-0. That was his first goal after 7 matches. In the previous 5 matches, the 31-year-old star had 6 assists, bringing his total number of "serving feasts" in the Premier League this season to 12. There are 13 more matches for Bruno to aim for the record of 20 assists held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry.
Looking broader, in addition to 12 assists currently in the Premier League, Bruno Fernandes has created 74 scoring opportunities for his teammates since the beginning of the season. This is a very large number because the 2nd place in this race, Declan Rice of Arsenal, is still 27 times behind Bruno. After Ruben Amorim was sacked and returned to his preferred position, in the last 5 matches, Bruno has had 23 scoring opportunities for his teammates. This is also the time of return after injury for the "Red Devils" captain.
The goal in round 25 is the 200th time Bruno has contributed to a goal, after 314 appearances for Man United in all competitions. Bruno achieved this milestone with many fewer appearances than other legends such as Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. Only Wayne Rooney is better than Bruno Fernandes in this index in the Premier League era.
When Bruno returned to his "number 10" position, playing right behind the center forward, Man United's playing style was also more direct. In the recent match against Spurs, the captain of the "Red Devils" had 46 touches of the ball in 1/3 of the opponent's field. This is also Bruno Fernandes' 2nd highest number since the beginning of the season. Not only playing higher than in Amorim's time, Bruno also actively penetrated the penalty area more. As Carrick described after the match, Bruno knew how to occupy space on the left flank to rush in and finish like that.
Although Amorim failed at Old Trafford, like Carrick, the Portuguese coach always appreciates Bruno Fernandes. Amorim once said, Bruno wants to have all the positions on the field, but reality proves that the 31-year-old star is often constrained in the midfield area. With Amorim, there is a reason for Bruno to retreat so deeply because no one else, he will be the one to provide the ball and create opportunities for the striker trio Cunha - Sesko - Mbeumo.
If Bruno wants freedom, Amorim cannot, but Carrick does. After the recent victory against Tottenham, in an interview with TNT Sports after the match, Bruno talked about Carrick giving players freedom on the field but must ensure responsibility for each position to make necessary decisions.
Bruno is playing better than any period since the beginning of the season, accompanied by the overall sublime form of the whole team. Man United is currently very fast, sharp in every play and "Red Devils" fans hope this progress will be extended for even longer.
