Bruno Fernandes defends his form for Manchester United

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Manchester United attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes has defended his form after scoring one goal so far this season.

Erik ten Hag was asked about Fernandes’ form in his latest pre-match press conference ahead of tonight’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

But the former Ajax manager leapt to the defence of the man who has been captaining the side for the majority of the season, and Ten Hag has no doubt the goals will come for his midfield maestro.

In Fernandes’ first 50 appearances for the Red Devils, following his arrival in January 2020 from Sporting Lisbon, our Portuguese Magnifico scored 26 goals and provided 18 assists.

Fernandes’ record for the second half of his time at Old Trafford, which has seen him play under three matches across 13 months, has seen him score 11 goals and lay on eight assists from 46 matches.

Bruno Fernandes defends his form for Manchester United

Occupying the attacking midfielder position, United’s number eight isn’t afraid of trying risky passes which can lead to his side losing possession.

In an interview with Amazon Prime ahead of tonight’s game against Antonio Conte’s Spurs, Fernandes was asked whether statistics tell the full story when determining if a player has played well or not.

Fernandes said: “Depends. If you play as a number ten you will have a lot of last balls and sometimes it’s a risky pass.

“Some people say I don’t run, he doesn’t cover the pitch – I would like them to see my stats on running. I’m normally at least in the top three of the ones that run the most, the most sprints, the most recoveries, but they don’t find those stats because I’m not scoring goals.”

Fernandes has only scored one goal across 13 appearances across all competitions this season, but the 28-year-old has defended his form under Ten Hag.

His solitary strike for the campaign proved to the winner at St Mary’s as Ten Hag’s side beat Southampton 1-0 in late August.

The Portugal international said: “Like Southampton, I didn’t do a great game, but I score a goal, and everyone is happy with that.

“Every day I’m a better player and I make myself ready to improve every day.

“I want to score more goals, I want to assist more, but that will never be a problem.

“Obviously, class is permanent. You have it, or you don’t.

“If my work rate is there, if the work I’ve been doing for the team is okay – I’m pretty sure I will get my goals, I will get my assists, I will get everything because the main thing in football is winning games, and if we do that, I’ll be happy.”