Much has changed for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes since he took the initiative to apologize to Erik ten Hag following the manager’s sacking and accepted his share of the blame.
In the four matches since, Fernandes has made a significant impact, scoring four goals and creating two more, with a claim on an additional goal that was ruled an own goal in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Leicester at Old Trafford.
This stands in stark contrast to his earlier season performance under Ten Hag, where he recorded no goals and just four assists—two of which came against League One Barnsley—in 12 games.
Reflecting on Ten Hag’s departure, Fernandes expressed regret and dismissed claims that he wanted the manager to be sacked as false. However, with football being a fickle environment, his resurgence will benefit a new coach.
“He is back,” interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy told BBC Sport. “He is producing goals and assists. That is the Bruno that is helping the team the most.”
On the day that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe presented Fernandes with a framed photograph to commemorate his 250th appearance for United, the 30-year-old’s performances have brought his total to 83 goals and 72 assists for the club across all competitions. Since his debut in February 2020, only Liverpool’s Mo Salah (198) has been involved in more goals.
In the Premier League, Fernandes has been directly involved in 100 goals in 170 appearances, just one more than Cristiano Ronaldo achieved after his return to Old Trafford.
Despite facing criticism at times, Fernandes has received praise from former teammates. Last week, Phil Jones called him “a leader” on BBC’s Match of the Day 2, while former Liverpool and England midfielder Danny Murphy described Fernandes as “United’s best creative spark.”
