By Sam Preston

Bruno Fernandes wasn't perfect vs Southampton but still had a huge impact

It’s fair to say Bruno Fernandes wasn’t at his sublime best against Southampton yesterday.

As per WhoScored, the Portuguese superstar had a pass accuracy of just 61 per cent at St Mary’s.

That was the lowest of any United outfield player.

He kept trying ambitious balls even when United slipped 2-0 behind and the tide of the game was against them.

There were times yesterday when he chose the wrong option, giving the ball away when a safer option would have been better.

But he takes risks nobody in the side is prepared to take and that means there’s always a chance of making things happen.

He kept driving United forward, grabbing the goal which started the turnaround.

That was one of six shots, more than any United player, and showed he can have a big impact even when he’s not at his very best.

Bruno should really have scored in the first half. He had two bites of the cherry after Alex McCarthy saved Mason Greenwood’s shot.

There were also a couple of long range shots in positions where he could have built the move up.

But it is a sign of his confidence that he tried them. This side needs a risk taker and that’s one of the reason United have been so drastically elevated since his arrival in January.

Fernandes will hope to put in a more rounded performance against PSG on Wednesday. But yesterday he showed his ability to leave a mark on a match when he’s not on top of his game.

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Sam Preston

Sam Preston is an NCTJ gold standard news and sports journalist who studied with the Press Association. He also has a 2:1 law with French law degree from the University of Birmingham, which included a year studying at Bordeaux Montaigne University. He is an FA Level 1 football coach who appeared on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show in 2018 and has also written digital football content and match-day programme pieces for Colchester United, Mansfield Town and Stockport County.