Manchester United playmaker Bruno Fernandes fell just short of matching a Red Devils milestone achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo in Sunday's 3-0 Premier League win over Leicester City.
In what was Ruud van Nistelrooy's last match as interim Man United head coach, the former Sporting Lisbon playmaker was the star of the show at Old Trafford, having a direct hand in all three goals.
Fernandes firstly broke the deadlock with a peach of a strike into the far corner, before his diving header took a wild deflection off of Victor Kristiansen and ended up rippling the roof of the net.
Man United's goal was eventually credited as an own goal for Kristiansen - denying Fernandes his second of the match - but the 30-year-old then teed up Alejandro Garnacho to score a stunning third from outside the area.
Fernandes's helper for Garnacho represented his 100th goal contribution in the Premier League, and the Portugal international has taken just 170 matches to hit that landmark, falling one short of Ronaldo's century from 169 appearances.
Fernandes one short of Ronaldo feat amid November revival
100 - Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in 100 goals in 170 appearances for Manchester United in the Premier League, reaching this milestone with just one more appearance than Cristiano Ronaldo (169) had upon doing so. Century. pic.twitter.com/iJX1o3HVSW
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 10, 2024
With his goal and assist on Sunday, Fernandes has now had a direct hand in 11 efforts in 17 matches across all competitions in the current campaign, scoring four of his own while laying on seven assists.
The 30-year-old endured a challenging start to the top-flight season in particular, only setting up one goal in his first seven games, but he has now come up with two goals and two assists in his last four Premier League appearances.
Fernandes's struggles came as part of Man United's collective issues during the last knockings of Erik ten Hag's reign, but he has thrived under Van Nistelrooy's wing and also scored twice in the 5-2 win over Leicester in the EFL Cup.
The Man United captain had previously spoken of feeling responsible for Ten Hag's sacking, having failed to hit his usual high standards in the current season, but he has urged himself to kick on with a peculiar "ketchup" analogy.
"I think, as many of the strikers said, when you open the ketchup, in the beginning it's tough to bring it out, but then, whenever you start bringing it out, it comes out all [at once]," Fernandes told MUTV.
© Imago
"So, hopefully, it's not going to stop. And I have to carry on this momentum. It was a really good win, important because we need points in the league, everyone is aware of that. And from now on, we have to kick on, because we are too much far behind where we want to be."
Where will Fernandes play under Ruben Amorim?
In under 24 hours time, Amorim will officially begin his role as Man United manager, and the Sporting Lisbon boss is heavily expected to implement his 3-4-3 setup at Old Trafford.
However, Amorim's system can also be viewed as a 3-4-2-1, with the two wing-backs providing the width and the two behind the striker acting as number 10s or inside forwards as opposed to out-and-out wingers.
Fernandes is therefore sure to occupy one of those slots behind the striker - most likely Rasmus Hojlund - as Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo vie for the two deeper midfield spots.
Who Amorim selects to act as the second 'number 10' is anybody's guess, though; Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen and Joshua Zirkzee are all viable options in the inside roles, alongside recognised wide men Garnacho, Amad Diallo and Marcus Rashford.
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