Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes was at his creative best against Newcastle, and did not get the reward.
Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle proved the importance of taking your chances. Michael Carrick’s side attempted 14 shots, scoring only once.
Club captain Bruno Fernandes did everything he possibly could to turn the game. He created the goal for Casemiro to score at the end of the first half.
We are calling it now… Bruno Fernandes should win Premier League Player of the Season 2025/26
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Bruno Fernandes’ highest xA of the season
Bruno Fernandes created eight goalscoring chances in Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. Three of those were categorised as ‘big chances’.
Fernandes is the only Premier League player this season to create eight chances in a game.
A further impressive statistic highlighted by Sofascore, who pointed out Fernandes’ Expected Assist tally of 1.25 over the 90 minutes.
This means that the quality of Fernandes’ chances created were so good that United were expected to score at least once.
If this does not appear to be a high figure, it is. This is the highest xA tally recorded by an individual player in a single game since the start of the 2024 season.
Frustratingly for Manchester United, it still was not enough. There was too much reliance on Fernandes to create chances, and striker Benjamin Sesko could not get into the game. He did not attempt a single shot.
Will Bryan Mbeumo finish the season strongly?
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Fernandes has key role ahead
It is amazing to think that there was debate at the start of the season whether Manchester United should have cashed in on Bruno Fernandes.
This was mainly because former boss Ruben Amorim was playing Fernandes out of position, not taking advantage of his abilities to the fullest.
It took until October for Fernandes to register his first assist. Now he has 14 for the season, charging United up to third in the Premier League table.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  ArsenalArsenal | 30 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 59 | 22 | 37 | 67 |
| 2 |  Manchester CityManchester City | 29 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 59 | 27 | 32 | 60 |
| 3 |  Manchester UnitedManchester United | 29 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 51 | 40 | 11 | 51 |
| 4 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 29 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 39 | 34 | 5 | 51 |
| 5 |  ChelseaChelsea | 29 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 53 | 34 | 19 | 48 |
| 6 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 29 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 48 | 39 | 9 | 48 |
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