Bruno Fernandes received high praise from Manchester United legend Roy Keane for his outstanding performance in his side’s 2-0 Premier League victory at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, April 16. The Portuguese midfielder ran the show at the City Ground as United earned a vital three points.
With their 18th league victory of the season, the Red Devils solidified their spot in the top four. Antony scored his team’s first goal in the 32nd minute and then set up Diogo Dalot to score their second in the 76th at the home of the promoted side. And it was unbelievable that hard-to-please pundit Keane saved special praise for 28-year-old following his brilliant exploits.
Keane backtracks on his earlier criticism of the Manchester United midfielder
It follows that Bruno Fernandes is not only one of the greatest players on the Manchester United team but also among the best in the league. Nevertheless, the fact that he has remained in good shape during his time at United is advantageous. Nothing changed as United travelled to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest. Although Fernandes had no direct effect on the final score, Keane, a former Manchester United captain, lathered praised on him following his impact on the Forest win.
The most of any player on the pitch in all three categories, he generated five opportunities, completed 42 passes in the final third, and ran 9.6 km. Despite not having a goal-contributing performance against Steve Cooper’s team, Fernandes, 28, gave a good effort. Keane spoke of the playmaker on Sky Sports:
“Brilliant, I really think he’s a brilliant player. He’ll be disappointed that he didn’t obviously score, but his quality of his balls into the box – if you’re a striker, it’s a dream. You make some runs and he picks you out. He’s got a good relationship with [Christian] Eriksen and all the guys around him. I just think he’s pure quality.”
Recently, Fernandes has been the target of immense criticism at Old Trafford. He has primarily been slammed for his recent attitude following Manchester United’s 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool, during which he was visibly enraged, maybe as a result of not being substituted off. Despite having previously criticised the midfielder, Keane highlighted that he is a different player when United are performing well.
“I know we criticise him when United don’t win football matches. He’s two steps ahead in terms of his quality and the picture he has on the football pitch. I think the guy’s pure quality. He’ll be disappointed again that he hasn’t scored today but great day for him.”
As Erik ten Hag experimented with his midfield in recent weeks, Fernandes too was given a new role. The likes of Scott McTominay and Marcel Sabitzer have been promoted up further, while Fernandes has dropped deep to orchestrate the play. After being harshly criticised post United’s loss at Anfield last month, Fernandes has since enjoyed a strong run of form. He has so far scored 10 goals and contributed 13 assists in 49 games in all competitions for Manchester United this season.