"Levels": Marcus Rashford & Jesse Lingard send message to £47m Man Utd star after Fulham display
Manchester United picked up a third-straight victory after a 3-2 Premier League win over Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Red Devils went into the game after statement wins over Manchester City and Arsenal.
They continued the streak with a hard-fought victory over the Cottagers. Benjamin Sesko bagged a late winner off the bench.
However, Bruno Fernandes was the standout performer, in our view.
The Portugal international provided a fine assist from a free-kick for Casemiro’s towering header to open the scoring for the Red Devils.
The United skipper also played a big part in the stoppage-time winner. The 31-year-old delivered a fine pass into the box for Sesko to convert.
Aside from his assists, Fernandes made four recoveries, two clearances and completed one tackle. He delivered 40 successful passes.
The £47 million signing was prone to losing possession (16 times), but he was a revelation in the final third with key goal contributions.
Shortly after the game, Fernandes posted on Instagram celebrating the win. He received praise from several players, including Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.
Rashford replied with a star emoji, while Lingard posted ‘levels’ with a fire emoji.
Here are screenshots
Fernandes’s form has been superb over the course of the season despite United’s mixed league form. He has five goals and 13 assists from 23 appearances this campaign.
12 of those assists have come in the Premier League where he is clear of the chasing pack. He is a firm favourite for the Playmaker of the Season award. Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki is the closest challenger with just seven assists.
With United’s sublime turnaround in league form under interim head coach Michael Carrick, Fernandes could have his sights on breaking the competition’s assist record. It is currently shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne at 20.
The Red Devils are currently fourth in the standings with 41 points on the board. They are the best side in the form table and entertain Tottenham Hotspur next. Spurs have attained only three points from their last five league matches.
United go into Saturday’s game as clear favourites but recent history against Spurs has been poor. They have picked up three draws and suffered five defeats in the previous eight meetings including a 1-0 loss in last season’s Europa League final.
The Mancunian giants have some scores to settle against the north London outfit. Fernandes should relish the challenge, given his fine record versus Spurs over the years. He has six goal contributions from 11 league encounters between the clubs.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
Article written by Sri Aswin .