As Bruno Fernandes picked himself up off the floor outside the penalty area at the Stretford End — his body crumpled from getting in the way of Axel Tuanzebe’s shot — you wondered if he had the legs to provide the counter-attacking outlet that Manchester United desperately needed.
Yet the surge of energy that coursed around Old Trafford in response to that block reached him too. Seconds later, he was hurtling down the left wing, stretching to keep the ball in play, charging into Ipswich Town’s penalty area and sending a low cross just slightly beyond a stretching Noussair Mazraoui.
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As Ipswich broke away themselves, he turned and charged back, head down, arms pumping. Only once play settled again did he get down on his haunches and take a momentary breath.
But then he was soon back up, ready to do it all over again for the remaining quarter of an hour, to grind out three points that United’s 10 men earned through sheer force of their will — embodied in their captain.
Fernandes’ devilish delivery of a free kick forced Ipswich captain Sam Morsy to bludgeon the ball into his net for the equaliser. Fernandes’ corner then led to the scramble for United’s second, the ball eventually forced over the line by Matthijs de Ligt.
And another Fernandes corner at the start of the second half, just when Ruben Amorim’s side were at risk of collapsing in on themselves, was driven in by Harry Maguire for the decisive goal.
All of the past six goals United have scored have originated from one of his set pieces, going back to Maguire’s late winner in the FA Cup fourth-round win over Leicester City. Then, as at Goodison Park on Saturday, as against relegation-battling opponents here, Fernandes was at the heart of another United comeback.
While allowances have to be made for the standard of opposition, his was not the only creditable performance on Wednesday. Maguire was outstanding in marshalling the lively Liam Delap. Leny Yoro delivered his most accomplished display for United to date.
It would be remiss not to mention Joshua Zirkzee, who is improving with every game. He was a tireless presence up top to earn his serenade from those remaining from the Stretford End as he made his way down the tunnel.
But the story of United’s past five years is of almost every player in the squad showing form in fits and starts, playing well here but disappointing there, never quite finding the sort of season-in-season-out consistency to become integral. Almost every player, that is.
Fernandes inspired Manchester United’s 3-2 victory against Ipswich (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Since his debut five years ago, only Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne have more Premier League assists than Fernandes. The United captain’s total of 48 is more than double that of his most creative team-mate over that period, Marcus Rashford.
That is the bigger picture. Focus on this game alone and no player on the pitch attempted more passes than Fernandes. No player progressed the ball as much. Only one was more involved in build-up play and, remarkably, just four made more defensive actions. Fernandes was everywhere.
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As preposterous as it may seem, there were valid questions over where exactly the 30-year-old would fit in Amorim’s system, given its lack of a single, central No 10. And to an extent, those questions remain unanswered.
Except the problem now is not whether he has a natural role to fill but whether he has too many, as Amorim hinted afterwards.
“We need to have more possession and I felt today we were more calm with the ball, especially in the beginning and especially after we suffered the first goal. Bruno was really important in that,” the head coach said. “Sometimes we need Bruno higher up the pitch to be nearer the goal but sometimes we need Bruno also building up.”
That was why Amorim deployed Fernandes in midfield in six straight games before Saturday’s trip to Goodison Park. Moving the ball from one end of the pitch to the other had proved problematic without Fernandes’ willingness to take possession and, with it, responsibility.
Despite starting higher up against Everton and again on Wednesday, he still dropped back to orchestrate as required. “I thought he was really good at that today because he’s really confident on the ball, no matter the context,” Amorim said.
But if Fernandes is helping move United up the pitch, he cannot be at the top of it, fashioning goalscoring opportunities to be put away. “We clearly need to create more chances and we need to score more goals,” Amorim added. “That’s a big issue in our team. We need to address that.”
According to FBref, Ipswich have conceded an expected goals (xG, which means the quality of goalscoring chances) of 52.7, the second-worst in this season’s Premier League. On Wednesday night, United’s three goals came from an xG of 0.7 — Ipswich put up twice as much, even if plenty came through Patrick Dorgu and Andre Onana’s calamitous mix-up four minutes in that allowed Jaden Philogene to open the scoring in an empty net.
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As cathartic as winning was, there is plenty of room for improvement. After the game, Amorim could not hide his frustration that, given a similarly spirited display with 10 men at the Emirates, his players appear more comfortable with their backs to the wall than when playing the proactive football he wants.
Fernandes signalled such teething problems in his own post-match comments. “We know we have to stick to what we’re training, what we’re supposed to do,” he told TNT Sports. “It could be that you could feel in moments it’s not working, but for some reason the manager wants us to do that and if he wants us to do that…
“They watch so many games, they prepare themselves, we have a big staff, not only the ones that came with him but the ones who were already here, we have great people behind the team to work on that so if they do that in the right way, we just have to come on the pitch and show it.”
Those quotes — specifically, the “for some reason” part and the ellipsis — were misconstrued in the aftermath but in their full context, Fernandes’ message is clear: Amorim has an idea, it is up to the players to execute it.
Whether United have the right players to realise Amorim’s vision is still very much up for debate — but it is beyond doubt that they have the right captain.
(Top photo: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
