Fernandes scored the most explosive goal of his career
In the recent match against Sheffield United, Fernandes played brilliantly to help Man United win 4-2. The Red Devils officially reclaimed 6th place and returned to the race to qualify for the European Cup next season.
In this match, Fernandes was the one who successfully took the penalty to equalize 2-2, increased the score to 3-2 with a spectacular long-range shot and assisted Rasmus Hojlund to seal the victory.
Parameters provided by Statman Dave show that Fernandes is the brightest name at Old Trafford on the morning of April 25 with a series of leading statistics, including the number of opportunities created (9 times), the number of passes entered 1/ 3 at the end of the field (31 times), the number of accurate long passes (8/12 times) and the number of crosses (5 times).
The excellent performance also helped Fernandes receive an absolute score of 10 from Sofascore. His contribution to the victory over Sheffield also increased his record in the last 5 matches on all fronts to 7 goals and 2 assists.
The Portuguese star is having the most impressive scoring streak of his career at Man United. Accordingly, his double against Sheffield United brought his total number of goals this season to 15.
Fernandes became the player who scored the most goals for Man United in all competitions this season, surpassing striker Rasmus Hojlund. The Danish star has 14 goals in his first season at MU.
Notably, this is the first time Fernandes has scored a double in two consecutive Premier League matches since joining the Red Devils (previously two goals in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth). This is also the first time he scored in 5 consecutive matches in all competitions for the Red Devils.
Previously, this midfielder had twice had a series of 4 consecutive scoring matches. The first was in 2020, starting with a dramatic penalty in the match against Brighton. About a month later, he did the same thing, with a double against Everton, opening a streak of four consecutive scoring matches.
Surpassed De Bruyne
Brilliant form will certainly make Fernandes a strong candidate for the race to win the title of Man United’s Player of the Year. Even though the Red Devils had an unsuccessful season, Fernandes still had brilliant performances.
More importantly, Fernandes has reached high form right when MU needs its leader to shine the most. Inspiration from Portuguese stars promises to be a launching pad for the Red Devils to raise hopes of a brighter end to the season.
And MU’s biggest hope is to win the FA Cup with city rival Man City. Blue Man is of course more appreciated, but MU fans can fully expect Fernandes to continue to shine to lead the team to the only possible title this season.
In fact, Man City is not as strong as last season. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, stopped in the fourth round of the League Cup and are also facing fierce competition with Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League.
And one of the reasons why the Green Man went down was due to the decline of Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgian midfielder was a key player in helping Man City win the treble last season. However, this season he was often tormented by injuries so he only made 19 appearances in all competitions, contributing 5 goals and 14 assists.
To be fair, De Bruyne still plays well but is no longer excellent, especially in recent matches. Age, injury and intense competition made him gradually lose his breath and no longer create magical plays like before.
Meanwhile, Fernandes is 3 years younger than De Bruyne, so he is naturally much more energetic. The Portuguese player is also a “towering buffalo” and rarely suffers long-term injuries. With the current situation, Fernandes will probably only get better while De Bruyne has reached his limit and will likely start to decline. The upcoming FA Cup final will show us more clearly the difference between these two “conductors”.
