With Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United long ago learned to face the hard and the soft.
Not all passes will reach the destination. Not all speculative shots will hit the target. But maybe one every three, five or ten does. And that’s often the difference between no point, one point, and all three.
Bruno Fernandes’ silky, intriguing performance during Portugal’s nervy 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in their long-awaited opening match of Euro 2024 was typical of the Manchester United captain.
Fernandes’ pass completion rate of 87 percent was only the eighth best on the Portugal team (WhoScored). But his job is not simply to maintain possession. No, Fernandes’ role is to take risks. The player. The dice thrower, in charge of ensuring that a six comes up every now and then.
Fernandes got a lot of fives that night; Rafael Leao failed to connect with his perfect cross and a fizzing shot went narrowly wide. Another magnificent through ball was wasted, precisely, by Cristiano Ronaldo.
But, in terms of pure creativity, this was possibly the best performance by any player in the European Championship so far, even if Fernandes was not entirely satisfied with his efforts.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes shines in Portugal victory
“It becomes more difficult when the opponent plays with a line of five defenders. Sometimes I forced passes when I shouldn’t have,” Fernandes tells Sport TV, a tendency to ‘force’ things possibly being both his greatest strength and greatest weakness.
“I made some mistakes in the first half. Taking risks has both sides of the coin, I know. But if I manage to pass the ball, I have a lot of quality in front of me to score. So I’m not worried about making mistakes because it’s part of the game.
“I have the team pushing me because they know that’s one of my characteristics.”
Ronaldo, who scored 50 goals in 51 games for Al-Nassr last season, is unlikely to miss many more opportunities like this on German soil. The same goes for Leao, just one shot away from finishing off a Fernandes cross at the far post.
One thing is for sure: Fernandes won’t let those near misses dull his shine. Statistically the most creative footballer in Europe’s major leagues, Fernandes’ ‘expected assists’ figures eclipsed his actual figures in 2023/24, but the talismanic captain continues on, doing what he does better than anyone.
Portuguese Pedro Neto is a Man United transfer target
“The Czech Republic had a low block and we should have tried to play between the lines,” adds Fernandes with a laugh. “If Cristiano had scored that goal, they probably wouldn’t have said I missed so many passes!”
Portugal’s late winning goal came not from Fernandes or Ronaldo, but from two younger players who combined to devastating effect off the bench. Francisco Conceicao, on his competitive debut no less, reacted quicker to strike from close range after a characteristic burst of acceleration from Wolves winger Pedro Neto.
“Francisco Conceicao has an energy that captivates. “Everyone knows his qualities,” says Fernandes about the Porto playmaker. “But we cannot forget Pedro Neto, because of the play he gave. We have several players who know how to ‘spread embers’.
“We are happy as a group. “The whole team jumped off the bench to celebrate the goal.”
Neto, as recently reported, is one of the wingers on Man United’s radar this summer. Wolverhampton Wanderers want around £60m, the same fee required to lure Michael Olise from Crystal Palace.
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