Manchester United are preparing to take on Porto and Erik ten Hag desperately needs a win at the Estadio do Dragao.
The attention turns to the Europa League on this Thursday evening and Manchester United need a result.
United were beaten 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, just days after a poor Europa League start.
United failed to beat FC Twente at Old Trafford, only managing a 1-1 draw against the Eredivisie side.
Erik ten Hag now needs a result at Porto, both to kick-start United’s Europa League campaign and to ease the pressure on his own job.
Porto boss on Bruno Fernandes
This will not be an easy game for United.
Porto have won six of their first seven league games this season, conceding just three goals in the process.
Defeat at Bodo/Glimt last week means Porto need to get their own Europa League campaign off the ground though.
A big game at home may be the perfect opportunity and Porto boss Vitor Bruno has picked out one United player to watch.
Vitor Bruno recently stepped up from being Sergio Conceicao’s assistant to become the Porto boss.
Speaking to Record, Vitor Bruno has now heaped praise on United playmaker Bruno Fernandes when asked about why he is criticised so often.
Vitor Bruno feels that Fernandes was harshly sent off against Tottenham on Sunday and believes the playmaker will now want to turn in a ‘great performance’ against Porto.
Fernandes is a former Sporting player too and Vitor Bruno believes the midfielder will be even more motivated to shine against Porto as a result.
The Porto boss added that his players simply cannot allow Fernandes to have space in midfield, stating that he must be controlled if Porto are to claim a positive result.
“He’s an international player, he’s always a quality player,” said Vitor Bruno.
“He was also a Sporting player, so I’m sure he’ll want to put in a great performance tomorrow. The way he was sent off in the last game, I think it wasn’t reasonable. He’s a very, very good player, we’ll have to try to control him, not let him play the way he likes and always be prepared to try to limit his style of play. We can’t give him space,” he added.
Bruno Fernandes record v Porto
Fernandes has played 10 times against Porto in his career; the only clubs he has played against on more occasions are Manchester City, West Ham United, Everton and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Fernandes won four of those 10 games during his time with Sporting, drawing twice and losing four.
The curious part here is that Fernandes has never actually scored against Porto.
The United captain’s record reads no goals and no assists in 10 attempts against Porto – something he will be desperate to change on Thursday night.
Fernandes did have a huge hand in a goal against Porto back in 2019 though as his wayward shot was diverted into the net for an own goal as Sporting beat Porto to win the Taca de Portugal in 2019.
Fernandes became a United player less than a year later and would no doubt love to finally get off the mark against Porto this evening.
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