A high number of jokes have been made about VARchester United and Man United’s deriving such a high percentage of their goals from the penalty spot. Ditto in regards to Bruno Fernandes, but when you see this wonderful finish, achieved from open play no less, you’ll stop cracking wise about this.
Take a look at this sublime scoring strike, which was certainly the goal of the day in UEFA Champions League play on Tuesday.
First goal of the night..Bruno Fernandes ?7'??…And you will hear someone calling him penandes?..#mufc #UCL #MUNIBFK pic.twitter.com/KNLaPAqV0E
— Redemptus Nkubana???? (@Its_Redemptus) November 24, 2020
Fernandes would score again, and he had the chance for a hat trick, but being the selfless leader that he is, he let Marcus Rashford step up and take the penalty get en route to United’s 4-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir this evening.
Daniel James completed the scoring in extra time.
The Portugese magnifico turned in a man of the match performance, as United finally have back to back home wins for the first time in 20-21.
He has now been directly involved in six goals in United’s last three games, and 21 goals overall in 35 games with the club.
The scoreline was lopsided, sure, but you still saw plenty of defensive issues on display with United. With a tricky Southampton squad on the docket next, and then a rematch with high scoring PSG next week, there is still plenty to sort out.
To overcome these challenges they’ll need strong leadership and that’s exactly what they’re getting from Bruno Fernandes right now. When you have an empty stadium, with no fans, you can hearing a lot more of what gets said on the pitch.
Fernandes epitomized the concept of a vocal leader today, as you could hear him refer to teammates by nickname and help direct them to the proper places they needed to be. He is manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s most valuable player on the pitch.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.