Premier League’s best passer? Bruno Fernandes stars in Man United 4-0 Everton | OneFootball

Bruno Fernandes is undoubtedly Manchester United‘s talisman. In their 4-0 victory over Everton this afternoon, the Portuguese midfielder again demonstrated why he is the Premier League’s best passer.

Former midfielder and beloved figure Juan Mata strongly suggested earlier this year that United’s team should be constructed around him. These comments were made during a challenging 2023/24 season, in which Fernandes was one of the better-performing players—although, to be fair, the overall performance of Erik ten Hag’s side did not set a high standard.

“The culture of the club should be built around him,” were Mata’s own words. “For me, he’s the one that is always there for the team. He can play better or worse, but he’s always there with the right attitude. And for me, that’s what being a Manchester United player is.”

Ten Hag has since departed and been replaced with Fernandes’ compatriot Ruben Amorim. Amorim has since brought a 3-4-2-1 system to Old Trafford, leading to speculation regarding United’s captain’s role within this set-up. As it turns out, he’s been utilised as one of the two midfielders behind the central striker. On today’s evidence, this proved to be a recipe for success.

With two assists in the first half, he’s now created more Premier League goals (46) than any other Portuguese player, surpassing Bernardo Silva by one. In fact, only Kevin De Bruyne (52) and Mohamed Salah (50) have more Premier League assists since his debut in the league. Even more impressive is that Fernandes has created the most chances during this time, totalling 474. Additionally, he is one of only two players to have created over 100 big chances since February 1, 2020, alongside De Bruyne, who has 104.

Fernandes is currently on 100 and it might not be long before he overtakes his Belgian counterpart. Speaking of whom, earlier last season, Manchester City’s creator-in-chief De Bruyne was asked to rank his favourite creative midfielders to watch in England’s top division.

Given the choice between Fernandes, James Maddison, and Martin Ødegaard, he put his neighbour in the top spot. De Bruyne was vindicated as Fernandes created a league-high 114 chances, subsequently becoming the seventh player on record (since 2003–04) to create 100+ chances in consecutive seasons in the competition and the first since De Bruyne in 2017/18.

As they approached matchday 13, United had secured only four victories from their first 12 matches and scored 13 goals. Goalkeeper Andre Onana emerged as a strong contender for ‘player of the season,’ yet there is potential for a more promising future. Alongside Fernandes, who delivered an outstanding performance, other players who faced criticism from fans and analysts stepped up their game.

Joshua Zirkzee led Amorim’s attack and was rewarded with two goals. Marcus Rashford, who scored the first goal of this new era for United, also netted a brace, making him the sixth player in Manchester United history to reach 50 Premier League goals at Old Trafford.

Fernandes assisted his initial goal, while the second came from Amad Diallo, who is now being utilised as a right wing-back. Diallo assisted Rashford for United’s opener against Ipswich last weekend and created another opportunity, bringing his tally to three assists in two Premier League matches. He now has five assists for the season, tied with Fernandes.

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