Ruben Amorim continued to experiment with his Manchester United squad in their Europa League clash against Bodo/Glimt.
It included a new role for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, with the 30-year-old pushed back into a central midfield role on Thursday evening.
Manuel Ugarte was benched against Ipswich but Ruben Amorim started him in midfield alongside Fernandes, who was handed a more attacking role on the weekend.
The Red Devils started brilliantly with Alejandro Garnacho scoring within a minute, but the visitors answered with two quickfire goals to take the lead. Fernandes was completely out of position for the first.
However, he grew into the game and got United ticking. That is exactly what Amorim planned for him to do.
Ruben Amorim praises Bruno Fernandes vs Bodo/Glimt
Amorim is still learning about his new players and their best positions, but it seems he liked what he saw from Fernandes at Old Trafford.
After United completed their 3-2 comeback victory against Bodo/Glimt, Amorim was full of praise for United’s captain.
He told TNT Sports: “You can feel that he is the most experienced player. The tempo, sometimes we start the play and Bruno is the right man to start the tempo of the play.
“Then, they play with a back four, they close inside so we are trying to switch the play all the time and Bruno is the best one at doing that.
“So that’s why. I think he is a midfielder.”
Fernandes was confident he could adapt to Amorim’s system having watched hours of his Sporting Lisbon side as a fan. He was impressive in the No.10 role against Ipswich but proved on Thursday he can also drop deeper if needed.
The numbers behind Bruno Fernandes’ Man United display
Fernandes is a big fan of Amorim and he has started brightly under his compatriot at United.
Rasmus Hojlund stole the headlines with his brace against Bodo/Glimt but the numbers prove Fernandes also put on a very impressive display.
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Touches | 95 |
| Passes completed | 88% (74/84) |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Total shots | 5 |
Fernandes was composed with the ball at his feet and, as pointed out by Amorim, looked to switch play out to the wing-backs at any given opportunity.
He was caught out of position for the equaliser and Fernandes will need to keep his discipline defensively, but Amorim wants United to control possession and Fernandes helps to do that from midfield.
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