Bruno Fernandes: Manchester United captain brushes off criticism as fine form continues

Bruno Fernandes insists he will remain himself, and in his current form, Manchester United will hope so. His fifth goal in a week helped Manchester United beat Leicester City 3-0 in the Premier League, with the Portuguese international once again playing a key role. This consistent performance underscores his importance to the team's success.

Fernandes scored a hat-trick and provided two assists in Manchester United's 4-1 Europa League victory over Real Sociedad on Thursday, helping the team reach the quarter-finals against Lyon. In addition, he also scored a goal in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal last weekend. While Amorim's team rose to 13th place with the victory at the King Power Stadium, Fernandes' outstanding performance came after former Manchester United captain Roy Keane criticized him last month for "talent alone is not enough." This demonstrates Fernandes' ability to respond to criticism with strong performances.

Fernandes has contributed 16 goals and 15 assists for Manchester United this season, but he is unfazed by criticism. "I do things my way," the 30-year-old said. "Obviously, it's not pleasant to hear these things about you, but at the same time, it motivates you, and obviously people think there are a lot of things you need to improve." His focus remains on contributing to the team's success regardless of external opinions.

"You have to look at everything people say in a positive way, whether it is a space for improvement or not. I have a lot of respect for Roy Keane." Fernandes added, "Obviously, not everything I do will be liked by everyone or thought of in the same way, I respect everyone's opinion, I have a lot of respect for Roy Keane, and I accept that there is a lot of room for improvement in my game, my leadership, and everything I do in my life." This mature perspective highlights his commitment to continuous self-improvement.

This season, Fernandes has been involved in 31 goals in all competitions, and among Premier League players, only Mohamed Salah (54) and Erling Haaland (33) have more goals than him. Since making his debut for Manchester United in February 2020, only Kevin De Bruyne (90) of Manchester City has more assists in all competitions than Fernandes (80) in Europe's top five leagues. These statistics underscore his significant impact on the team's attacking prowess.

After the comfortable victory over second-to-last Leicester City, he told Sky Sports: "We knew it would be difficult and we had to be at our best. In the first half, we made mistakes in transition, but in the second half we controlled the game better and scored goals. Against Arsenal, we were positioned a little further back on the pitch, we felt they didn't have much pace up front. I think you can see some progress, but that has to continue. We have important games." This reflects his focus on continuous improvement and upcoming challenges.

"I want to score as many goals as possible because that's an important part of my game, and I need to help my teammates. I need to get into the edge of the box and score goals because that's one of my strengths," Fernandes added. Amorim also praised Fernandes, who provided assists for Rasmus Højlund and Alejandro Garnacho, and then scored a goal himself. His versatility and ability to contribute in multiple ways make him a valuable asset.

The Manchester United manager said: "He's a special person in that regard, he's always ready, he can recover well. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm reading the information the performance department is telling me, the numbers, and then what I see in the game. I always see a dangerous Bruno and a Bruno who can recover in any situation. So he'll stay there." This highlights the manager's confidence in Fernandes' abilities and resilience.

"I've got to know Bruno. What surprised me the most was the way he works every day, that surprised me. We saw Bruno with that frustration in Portugal, I was really surprised, he's a very good professional. You can understand that frustration, it was a surprise to me," Amorim concluded. This emphasizes Fernandes' professionalism and dedication, further solidifying his importance to the team.