With Champions League qualification secured, Bruno Fernandes’ race to 21 assists is Man Utd’s biggest story, but he already has them without getting the record!
As soon as Bryan Mbeumo scored Man Utd’s third goal in the 3-2 win against Forest, everyone ran to Bruno Fernandes instead.
That marked his 20th league assist of the season, equalling the Premier League record held by Kevin de Bruyne and Thierry Henry.
However, he already has 21 assists this season, and by his own admission, Fernandes should have more were it not for a poor rule.
HOW impressed are you by Bruno Fernandes equalling Premier League history!
Can he go on to break the record?🤔
Bruno Fernandes’ 21st assist of the season
Bruno Fernandes breaking the record this season will be even more impressive because he didn’t register his first assist until matchday eight, and he spent half the season playing defensive midfield.
Moreover, United will finish the season with just 40 games across all competitions, so he has had to fight rust after every few games instead of being in a flow state.
The assist record needs to be set in 38 of those 40 games, but his 21st assist already came in the 40th, which was the FA Cup tie against Brighton at Old Trafford.
In the third-round fixture back in January, Fernandes assisted Benjamin Sesko’s equaliser in the 84th minute before Danny Welbeck’s winner dumped United out of the competition.
Therefore, Fernandes is already on 21 assists in all competitions this season; it’s just unfortunate that he didn’t get the chance to rack up more because United fluffed their chance to make cup runs.
The league record of 21 will be squarely in his sights when United travel to Brighton, but by Fernandes’ own admission, he should already have the record in his hands were it not for a poor rule.
Bruno Fernandes notes the assist that should have been
If his teammates were more clinical, it’s feasible to suggest that Fernandes would already be sitting on 25+ assists.
Where does playing Bruno Fernandes in a deeper role rank among Ruben Amorim’s mistakes?
However, that is not the point a captain would ever make, so Fernandes’ point is more about a flaw in the rules for counting assists.
Recently, Fernandes sat down with Opta and noted a moment during the win against Brighton at Old Trafford this season where he should have been credited with an assist but wasn’t.
In the game, he played a dummy from Ayden Heaven’s pass, which completely took out the Brighton defence, leaving Bryan Mbeumo free to finish one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Fernandes made the point that without the dummy, Mbeumo doesn’t run free, so that assist should be his despite not touching the ball.
He said: “I would give myself an assist for that [dummy]. That, for me, is more of an assist than others. If I don’t do the dummy, the defender will never come with me and leave the [goalscorer] alone.
“But then, it counts the last person who touched the ball. I’ve had a couple of ones like that this season as well.”
Fernandes might not have played the final pass in these cases, but, as he says, the goal doesn’t happen without his “non-action action”.
Perhaps he’s on 22 in all competitions then, and the league record has already been broken!
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