MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has said all the right things since Erik ten Hag’s sacking. He shouldered responsibility for the Dutchman’s departure and revealed he phoned his former boss to apologise.
He’s done the right things, too, and after failing to score in Ten Hag’s last 17 games in charge, he’s now got four in four under caretaker boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.
His goal against Leicester helped United to a 3-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday to give Van Nistelrooy’s short spell the perfect finale. Three wins from four games has steadied the ship. From Monday, Rúben Amorim will officially be United’s head coach and he needs Fernandes to keep doing his talking on the pitch if he’s going to get off to a quick start when his reign begins at Ipswich Town after the international break.
“It was a long time that I wasn’t scoring and now goals are coming in the last few games,” Fernandes said after the Leicester game. “Another clean sheet was important for us to bring back the fortress we had here. We have to keep doing that and we have to improve. It’s a new era, a new manager means everything changes but what hasn’t changed is that this club has to get back to where it belongs.”
United’s new leadership team have put their faith in Amorim to be the man to turn the club around; they’re expecting Fernandes to be front and centre, too.
The Portugal midfielder was handed a new contract in August which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2027. It came with a substantial pay rise and he’s now one of United’s highest earners alongside Marcus Rashford and Casemiro. The inference is that, whoever the manager is, he will continue to be a central figure.
It means that Amorim will have to find a place for him in his team, even if it means a shift in position. Fernandes has been at his best for United as a No. 10, but Amorim prefers playing with two “inside forwards.” They are creative roles, which will suit Fernandes, but it requires an amount of tactical discipline.
Whether under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Ten Hag, he’s often been given licence to roam wherever he wants. Fernandes has taken advantage of the freedom, recording 100 goal involvements in 170 Premier League games since arriving at United from Sporting CP in 2020.
But his instructions will be more focused once Amorim comes in, and it remains to be seen how he copes when the demands are more rigid. Shape and organisation are important to the way Amorim wants to play and it becomes difficult when even one player is determined to charge about all over the place. Fernandes’ work rate cannot be questioned, but he’s faced criticism in the past for a perceived lack of tactical nous.
With the security of defensive midfielders Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro behind him against Leicester, Fernandes was involved in all three goals. The first was a wonderful curling finish from the edge of the penalty area after collecting Amad Diallo‘s neat backheel; the second was an own goal by Victor Kristiansen, scored while trying to track Fernandes’ run into the box; and Alejandro Garnacho got the third, following Fernandes’ run from the halfway line.
United’s matchwinner left the pitch to chants of “Bruno, Bruno” from the Stretford End.
He still divides United fans and the debate about whether he’s a suitable captain continues to swirl. But on days like this it’s easy to see his worth, albeit against a Leicester team who have only kept one clean sheet this season and none away from home.
“It was an important three points,” Van Nistelrooy siad afterwards. “In the four games Bruno scored some important goals, assisting too, so he is back producing. That’s the Bruno that is helping the team the most.
“You saw the class of the team in our goals, we also gave very little away. We tried to stabilise after a difficult and emotional period. We wanted to get players performing at their best, we got the right feeling to them and got them believing in themselves.”
Fernandes and the rest of the United squad have got six months to impress their new boss. Parachuted into the job mid-season, Amorim will have to make do with what he’s got for at least the rest of the campaign as there won’t be major changes in January as the club continue to battle with a tight budget and Profit and Sustainability concerns.
Fernandes has been central to the mini-turnaround under Van Nistelrooy and he’ll be key to Amorim’s hopes of early success. If he can continue his goal-scoring form then United fans can look forward to their new era getting off to a bright start.
