Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has insisted that Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes was integral to Michael Carrick’s men against Brighton on Sunday.
Michael Carrick and his men travelled to the Amex at the weekend for Manchester United’s final Premier League match of the 2025-26 campaign against Brighton.
United overwhelmed Brighton in the Premier League encounter and the Red Devils sealed an emphatic 3-0 win in Carrick’s first match as the permanent head coach.
Patrick Dorgu and Bryan Mbeumo both netted in the first half for United against Brighton before Bruno Fernandes scored for the Red Devils after the break.
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Some impressive performances in a dominant victory…
Gary Neville on the influence of Bruno Fernandes in Man Utd’s Premier League performance under Michael Carrick
Bruno Fernandes picked up an assist for Patrick Dorgu’s stunning header before the 31-year-old Manchester United captain made a major impact in the second half.
The Red Devils midfielder has been in red-hot form since January after Ruben Amorim was sacked as Man Utd manager and replaced by Michael Carrick.
Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Gary Neville insisted that Carrick could not afford to see the Red Devils down tools after his appointment as head coach.
The 51-year-old ‘Class of ’92’ star added that Fernandes ensured that the Red Devils produced the best performance they could for head coach Carrick on the day.
“Yeah, I did say last week actually after the United game against [Nottingham] Forrest at home that I thought that Michael Carrick will be right into them this week, saying to them something like, ‘This game next weekend, when you’ve already secured in third, will tell me a lot of what you’re about, that there are three or four or five thousand United fans traveling down to Brighton, four, five, six hours. And by the way, you better give a performance for them,’” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
“So, I think today was really important for Bruno Fernandes.”
What is your message to Bruno Fernandes after he sets a NEW Premier League assist record?🔥
He's now the sole ASSIST KING in league history 🅰️x21
Gary Neville on Bruno Fernandes breaking the Premier League assist record in Man Utd’s 3-0 against Brighton
Fernandes took his Premier League assist tally to 21 on Sunday and surpassed Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne to claim the all-time record for a single season.
Reacting to Fernandes’ impressive Premier League milestone, United legend Neville added: It’s an incredible achievement to overtake Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
“[As] I say, 21 assists is absolutely fantastic [for Fernandes]. And a goal as well, yeah. I didn’t know he’d scored, to be fair. I’ve been watching this game here. Who scored for United?”
Fernandes found the back of the net nine times and registered 22 assists in 37 matches across all competitions for Man Utd in the 2025-26 campaign.
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