Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer were both in full agreement about one standout performer under Michael Carrick in Manchester United’s display against Tottenham on Saturday.
Spurs arrived at Old Trafford at the weekend and Manchester United inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Tottenham in their fourth Premier League match under Michael Carrick.
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Cristian Romero was sent off in the opening 30 minutes after a reckless challenge on Casemiro and the Red Devils capitalised on their numerical advantage over Spurs.
A well-worked – and clever – United corner-kick involving Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo saw Bryan Mbeumo add the finishing touch in the first half.
Bryan Mbeumo’s opener laid the foundation for Man Utd’s lead over Tottenham before Bruno Fernandes doubled the Red Devils’ advantage late in the second half.
Gary Lineker raves about Bruno Fernandes’ impact under Michael Carrick after Man Utd’s 2-0 Tottenham win
Diogo Dalot played a superb cross into the Tottenham box from the right side and Bruno Fernandes showed his instinctive finishing with a first-time stab at the ball.
The ball came off the knee of Man Utd captain Fernandes and an outstretched Guglielmo Vicario was unable to deny the ball from landing in the back of his net.
Speaking after Manchester United’s win over Tottenham, pundit Gary Lineker was left in awe at the 31-year-old Portugal international’s sensational impact.
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“What a footballer he is, isn’t he? I mean, I loved his finish, you know,” he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“Clever finish. Because [of] what he did there, he knew the ball was going to bounce up.
“So, he’s like, ‘Right, I’ve got to get my knee over the ball and just let it hit me wherever it hits me, on the, whatever part of the shin.’
“And he definitely meant [it], I think he said in the interview on Match of the Day after the game, that he did mention it.
“And that was absolutely pure football intelligence. I mean, we talked, didn’t we, a bit prematurely about contenders for Player of the Season earlier, a couple of podcasts ago. I mean, he’s playing wonderfully well.”
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Scored a great goal and created a lot of chances…
Lineker also singled out a key stat to show Fernandes’ sensational influence has only been outrivalled by Wayne Rooney in one major area in his prolific Man Utd spell.
“It’s a great stat here, actually,” he said.
“He’s reached 200 goal involvements in 314 games now for Manchester United. Only Wayne Rooney has done it in fewer games, 295 games.”
Alan Shearer’s reaction to Bruno Fernandes’ Man Utd performance against Tottenham at Old Trafford
Fernandes has been playing in an advanced attacking position under Michael Carrick and has netted once and registered four assists in the last four Premier League matches.
Speaking on the performances of both Man Utd and Fernandes, Alan Shearer said: “But anyway, back to Man United. That’s not their fault or their problem.
“Yeah, they’re playing some really good stuff. He’s totally changed the attitude Michael Carrick has. They just, I don’t know, they look really gelled. They look really [good] together.
“They scored a really good set-piece from a corner, which is obviously something they’ve worked on.
“Bruno Fernandes, clearly loving playing for Carrick. He was outstanding again.”
Fernandes has scored six times and picked up 13 assists overall in 24 matches across all competitions for Man Utd in the 2025-26 Premier League season.
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