Bruno Fernandes has made quite the splash (or cannonball) in English football since signing for Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon at ...

Bruno Fernandes has made quite the splash (or cannonball) in English football since signing for Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon at the end of January. Where would Manchester United or manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær be right now had it not been for the mercurial talents of the Portuguese?
Manchester United were in fifth place the day before Bruno Fernandes made his Premier League debut, six points off Chelsea in fourth place. The Red Devils had won nine, drawn seven and lost eight of their 24 games and, by the end of January, they were closer to the relegation zone in terms of points (11) than to Leicester City in third (14).
However, from the point when Fernandes made his Premier League debut until the end of the season, Manchester United won more points than any other side in the competition (32), going unbeaten in their 14 matches in this period (P14 W9 D5 L0). Fernandes led the Premier League for total goal involvements, scoring eight and assisting a further seven goals, while only Kevin De Bruyne (83) had a hand in more shots than United’s new star man (74 – attempting 44 and creating 30).

Fernandes wouldn’t taste defeat in a Manchester United shirt until his 18th competitive appearance for the club (vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup) – the longest unbeaten start to a United player’s career since Javier Hernandez in November 2010, who also lost in his 18th game (also a cup match vs. a London side, West Ham).
Since Bruno Fernandes’ Premier League debut in February, the Red Devils have averaged more Premier League points-per-game than any other side (2.09). In fact, Man Utd’s 48 points in their 23 league games since his arrival is 17 more than they earned in the same number of games before his debut (31).






When revisiting the advanced metrics, Fernandes has been directly involved in more open-play sequences that ended in a goal in the Premier League than any other player since his debut (24), which further cements the notion he is the fulcrum in the Manchester United side when in possession of the ball.

Heading into this weekend’s fixture away at West Ham, Manchester United are currently enjoying an eight-match winning run on the road, the longest such streak in their league history, while Bruno Fernandes himself has scored in each of his last five Premier League away games (six goals). Should he find the net this weekend, he will be the first player to score in six consecutive away league appearances for the Red Devils since Denis Law in March 1964.
Bruno Fernandes has scored 22 goals in his 37 appearances in all competitions for Manchester United; only Ruud van Nistelrooy (30), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (24) and Robin van Persie (23) had scored more goals at this stage of their Red Devils career in the 21st century. If Fernandes continues down his current path, more records will tumble and he’ll quickly establish himself as a modern-day hero at Old Trafford, something they’ve needed in order to help re-establish themselves at the upper echelon of English football.
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