Manchester United made it four wins on the bounce with a free-flowing 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Red Devils overwhelmed their visitors, who went down to ten men after half an hour when Cristian Romero fouled Casemiro.
Michael Carrick’s team took a first-half lead through Bryan Mbeumo but huffed and puffed in pursuit of a second to make the points secure, Bruno Fernandes finally doubling the advantage with ten minutes to go.
Captain fantastic
Fernandes deserved to get his name on the scoresheet and did so with an improvised finish from a Diogo Dalot cross.
He peppered the goal throughout the game and in total had two shots on target, two shots off target and four blocked.
The Portuguese was typically creative, and his six key passes was at least two more than anyone else on the pitch managed. One of these passes created a big chance, and he was unlucky not to secure an assist.
Landmark day for Bruno
Fernandes’ goal was a landmark for the player, who has now had 200 goal involvements since joining United – 104 goals and 96 assists.
He was an important man for his team again today, taking 83 touches – only three team-mates took more.
The 31-year-old found his man with 52 of 61 passes, recording a success rate of 85%.
United spent most of the match on the front foot, meaning Fernandes was seldom called upon for defensive contributions – he made none today, a rare blank for an all-action player.
He won two of four contested ground duels and completed one of two attempted dribbles.
Bruno Fernandes vs. Spurs
Player Bruno Fernandes
Goals 1
Expected goals (xG) 0.71
Assists 0
Expected assists (xA) 0.53
Big chances created 1
Key passes 6
Crosses (accurate) 6 (1)
Accurate passes 52/61 (85%)
Passes in opposition half (acc.) 36/45 (80%)
Passes in own half (acc.) 16/16 (100%)
Long balls (accurate) 3/4 (75%)
Total shots 8
Expected goals on target (xGOT) 0.32
Shots on target 2
Shots blocked 4
Offsides 1
Touches 83
Dribbles (successful) 2 (1)
Was fouled 1
Possession lost 15
Total carrying distance 148.7 m
Carries 15
Progressive carries 3
Total progression 89.3 m
Progressive carrying distance 62.1 m
Longest progressive carry 27.4 m
Def. contributions 0
Tackles (won) 0 (0)
Interceptions 0
Clearances 0
Blocked shots 0
Recoveries 3
Ground duels (won) 4 (2)
Fouls 1
Dribbled past 0
All stats taken from sofascore.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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