‘I’ve been let down by my teammates’- Manchester United most important player reveals he could have scored 15 goals this season but some players are not helping
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes acknowledged his numbers in attack are not as high as they could be this season.
Speaking to the club website via NBC Sports, he said: “If we’re talking about statistics, in my first year it was amazing.
“Probably now, I’m not getting as many goals and assists but I’m playing much better and I am more involved in the game than I was before.
“It’s more important that the team wins. That makes your week. It’s easier to go to training and see the same faces when you win than it is when you lose
As Fernandes notes, he won’t mind so long as the team are winning, but his numbers could be far higher.
This season he has three assists, and just one in the Premier League. Last season he managed 14 assists in total.
Fernandes creates big chances
Bruno Fernandes’ latest performance in Manchester United’s win over Nottingham Forest was a case in point.
He laid on an easy chance for Antony to score in the second half, only for the Brazilian to fire his effort straight at the goalkeeper.
The Premier League website shows Bruno Fernandes has created 10 ‘big chances’ in Premier League games this season.
This is the second highest in the whole league, behind only Kevin de Bruyne, with 14.
The difference is De Bruyne has nine assists, thanks to having a clinical striker up front. Fernandes only has one assist to show for it.
Christian Eriksen is over performing his quality of chances created, with five Premier League assists from only three big chances created, by comparison.
Fernandes’ contribution of 10 big chances created already this season would already rank him inside the top 10 for the 2021/22 season.
Last season Fernandes provided 15 ‘big chances’ for his teammates, six of which ended up in assists.
This season the Portuguese star has already reached two-thirds of this tally in just 15 Premier League games.
All he can do is create the chances. It’s on his teammates to score them, and they are not doing their job in this regard.
This is no secret, that United need to sign a new striker. The team have scored only 23 goals this season, fewer than Brighton (26) and Fulham (27).
More help should hopefully be forthcoming in the transfer market, but until then, the club’s stars have to step up.
Fernandes is doing his job, and if he continues to create big chances at this rate, the assists will start to pile up.
