Fernandes Lights Up The Field As Red Bull Inter Miami Secures Victory!
[BBC] [Getty Images] Many will not admit that Bruno Fernandes has been the Premier League's best player this season, but his status as a Manchester United icon is undisputed. United's captain delivered when the lights were the brightest again to inspire a potentially season-defining victory over Aston Villa . Defeat by a direct rival after stumbling at Newcastle would have severely damaged dreams of a Champions League return.
Yet it couldn't have transpired much better, even more so in between dismal home results for Chelsea and Liverpool. Fernandes once again showcased why, Champions League next season or not, United must retain his services. Another pinpoint set-piece delivery for Casemiro's seventh goal of the season - Fernandes has assisted five of those, making it the Premier League's most deadly combination this term.
But his perfect pass for Matheus Cunha's Stretford End strike was one of his finest in a United shirt. Glorious, unmatched vision and execution that sets the Portuguese playmaker apart from all who play in his position. Fernandes' 16 league assists is double the total of his closest competitor, Rayan Cherki.
In fact, it is the most assists any United player has ever produced in a Premier League season, overtaking David Beckham's 15 from the 1999-00 campaign. Fernandes also joins elite company in Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney as the only three Red Devils players to reach 100 goals and 100 assists in the Premier League era. He may not boast the silverware Giggs and Rooney relentlessly collected under Sir Alex Ferguson, but he is not out of place in that trinity of attacking class.
The primary question that dominated the Villa build-up was how United would react to a first taste of defeat under Michael Carrick? We got a satisfying answer at Old Trafford on Sunday. An even bigger question will continue to linger for a while longer, though.