Cristiano Ronaldo will steal all the headlines on Thursday morning as the superstar forward scored the late winner to earn Manchester United all three points against Atalanta.
It was, however, another Portuguese player who would be awarded this evening’s Man of the Match, and that’s Manchester United’s own midfield maestro.
After a run of poor performances from the 27-year-old star, Fernandes returned to his brilliant best in the second half against the Italian outfit to help produce a trademark Old Trafford night under the floodlights.
As his side were chasing a goal, Fernandes dropped deep to help the midfield and that was reflected in the stats. The Portugal international won nine ground duels and lost only two against the combative Bergamo club.
Bruno Fernandes’ game by numbers vs. Atalanta:
95 total touches
11 ground duels contested
9 ground duels won
9 chances created
5 fouls suffered
5 attempted tackles
4 successful tackles
3 big chances created
3 shots
1 assistWhat. A. Player. 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/cFGnHfcv03
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) October 20, 2021
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Furthermore, he created nine chances in the game – more than any other player on the pitch. The standout moment came early in the second half when he assisted Marcus Rashford’s goal with an outstanding outside-of-the-boot pass.
Out of those nine chances, three were ‘big chances’ with a higher probability of a goal being scored. He also drew five fouls, attempted five tackles, and won four of them.
Fernandes was back at his magnificent best on Wednesday evening and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping for more of that on Sunday as they welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford.
