Exactly Killy – And what those attacking players do now for Bruno is they give him the scope to be able to drag them to winning games as its so well put here:
“Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and – more recently – Benjamin Sesko have borne some of that attacking, creative load, but looked like any of the numerous inadequate forwards Fernandes has played with previously at United here, requiring the Portuguese playmaker to pull on his big boy pants and attempt to turn a 427th game as a Red Devils player in United’s favour on his own.
His dipping free-kick forced an excellent fingertip save from Dean Henderson, who made just one further stop in the first half, from a Sesko header following a Fernandes cross. Casemiro headed United’s best chance wide from a Fernandes free-kick that the United captain won himself with a nutmeg.
It was a typical “f*** it, I’ll do it then” response from a man who must be acknowledged not only as one of the Premier League’s best players but also one of the very best leaders, and Fernandes turned the game on its head with one superb pass early in the second half. The key to it was him rapping the pass first-time into Cunha, which caught Lacroix unawares and allowed the Brazilian to roll the Palace defender, get ahead of him and draw a foul which resulted in a penalty and a cruel but reasonable DOGSO red card.
Fernandes converted from the spot and there was only going to be one winner from then on as a Palace side which had been wilting in any case were struggling to handle the heat that Fernandes then managed to conduct to his teammates.
It was a little under a year ago that Roy Keane last questioned Bruno Fernandes’ captaincy, labelling him a “f***ing imposter”, claiming “talent isn’t enough” and insisting he’s “not a fighter”, in what has been a leader-denying vendetta from one of United’s greatest-ever skippers against the incumbent pretty much since Fernandes was appointed as Harry Maguire’s successor in the summer of 2023. We wonder what Keane thinks now.
Because the big difference between this United side and what Fernandes had to put up with previously is that there are now players capable of being dragged up to somewhere close to his level. He may still be required to do the dragging, as was the case here against Palace, but it’s now a worthwhile effort, as proven by Sesko’s excellent movement in the box and header from the captain’s delightful cross to win this game and move United up to third in the Premier League.
Fernandes remains United’s best and most important player, but the uptick in quality around him at the top end of the pitch means that him leading by example and looking to turn games around ends not in frustrated arm flailing and sulking but in goals and points, and should mean a dramatic change in how he’s viewed as a Premier League captain”.
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