Manchester United succumbed to yet another home Premier League defeat, this time at the hands of Nottingham Forest 3-2.
It was a frustrating evening for new boss Ruben Amorim, who watched the same flaws in his side re-surface yet again. Defensive vulnerability with crosses into the box struggling to be dealt with and a lack of fluidity and creativity in attacking areas.
Despite getting on the scoresheet in the second half to get United back to 3-2, captain Bruno Fernandes was substituted in the 76th minute with the game still in the balance.
Often United’s talisman, it seemed boss Amorim was unhappy with his captain’s performance, who lost possession 19 times and had a passing accuracy of just 75%.
Bruno Fernandes' below-par season at Manchester United
Skipper Fernandes carried his Manchester United side at times last season, producing an exceptional 28-goal contributions across all competitions.
So far this campaign, those numbers do not look like reaching the heights of the 23/24 season with Fernandes contributing just five goals so far in 2023/24.
Bruno-Fernandes-Man-Utd-assist-record
The Portuguese midfielder never shies away from the ball and is always looking to make something happen for his side but recently it seems he has been far more careless in possession.
In his last five appearances for Man United, Fernandes has a passing accuracy of just 76.42% with his lowest total coming against Everton with an accuracy of just 67.6%.
Bruno-Fernandes-Man-United
Furthermore, Fernandes has failed to chalk up a single goal-creating action in three out of his last five games and with Amorim hooking him off at a vital time against Forest, it seems that the United captain has food for thought on his own performances.
What they might do for a prime Angel Di Maria at the club. As it happens, their former £60m signing is now outperforming the Red Devils' club captain.
Angel Di Maria vs Bruno Fernandes in 2024/25
In the words of former teammate and goalkeeper Marcin Bulka, Di Maria now "hates Man United" after leaving the club. That being said, he is flourishing at the ripe old age of 36.
The Argentine is now back at Benfica in Portugal, a club that Di Maria initially joined back in 2007 from his hometown club of Rosario Central for a fee of around £7m.
angel-di-maria
Following spells at Real Madrid, Man United, PSG and Juventus, Di Maria has returned to the Estadio Da Luz and is now playing his part in Benfica's title charge, where they sit just two points off leaders Sporting Lisbon.
Fernandes v Di Maria in 2024/25
Stat
Goals
Progressive carries (PgrC)
Shots on Target %
Long pass completion %
Successful Take ons
Crosses
Stats via FBref
It seems that Di Maria is showing no signs of letting up just yet in his illustrious career. In fact, the ex-United midfielder is still outperforming current United captain Fernandes in a number of key attacking metrics, perhaps the most significant being goals scored this season.
Di Maria has a higher number of progressive carries than Fernandes and has attempted more crosses into the box in order to create chances for his high-flying Benfica side.
The attacker has at times drifted deeper to collect the ball this term and his long pass completion percentage of 50.5% is over 2% more accurate than his United counterpart.
Whilst it is fair to say Di Maria's Man United career never really took off, scoring just four times in 32 appearances across his solitary season, the Argentine veteran is still showing that he is capable of mixing it with Europe's best and, who knows, may even help to fire his beloved Benfica to another Portuguese title this season.
Other MUN Related
He lost the ball 20x: Amorim got it wrong by giving Man Utd star 90 minutes
The Man Utd ace was poor against Nottingham Forest