Bruno Fernandes has arguably been Manchester United’s best and most consistent player ever since arriving in January of 2020. He might not have been at the club a long time but he has already established himself as one of the leaders of this team, and is definitely one of the first names on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team sheet in every game.
Over his first season-and-a-half with the club, the Portuguese superstar did it all when it comes to scoring as well as creating chances for his teammates. This season though, there has been a visible shift in his role in the team.
He has become much more of a playmaker ever since the return of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer. Just for comparison, let’s take this season and the last one.
According to stats from Transfermarkt, Fernandes has scored 4 goals and provided 8 assists this season till now. On the other hand, he had scored 28 goals and provided 17 assists last season. Thus, the difference is pretty clear.
Fernandes’ role at Manchester United has undergone a huge change
There is no denying the fact that Fernandes’ role has undergone a change this season and it is much more concentrated on creating now, than it was in the past. On the other hand, he has not scored very often this season.
In fact, he had scored a hattrick in the opening Premier League game of the season against Leeds United and since the arrival of Ronaldo, he has scored only once.
Now, a very big reason behind his creative stats going up could be the brilliant finishing of Ronaldo in front of goal. But it is safe to say that Fernandes has not been nearly as effective in terms of scoring as he has been in the past.
And that is an aspect of his game that Manchester United could do with at this point of time, as it looks like they are lacking a consistent goalscorer other than Ronaldo right now.