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Fernandes and Maguire support Mata from afar
Bruno Fernandes said he "just knew" Juan Mata was never missing as the former United midfielder stepped up to score a free-kick on Saturday, and Juan has since responded to that trending footage.
Our captain was watching Melbourne Victory, Mata's current team, against Sydney FC on the big screen at Carrington, and as the 37-year-old stepped up to take a free-kick on the edge of the box, Bruno knew this was going to be a moment worth capturing.
Sat next to Harry Maguire, he whipped out his phone to record the live broadcast, and Mata quickly repaid his faith.
"Over the wall?" Harry can be heard asking. "For sure, he has to," comes Bruno's reply.
Sure enough, the former Spain international steps up and curls his effort over the Sydney wall and neat into the top-right corner, giving goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares little hope of reaching it.
"Knew it!" Fernandes bellowed as the ball it the back of the net, filming a beaming Maguire as they watched the midfielder celebrate.
"The trust I have in this guy, filming live!" the Portugal international added, as he posted the video to his Instagram story.
That strike was a first-half opener in the A-League clash, added to after the break by Charles Nduka.
Unfortunately, however, that two-goal advantage was cancelled out by a quickfire double from the hosts, courtesy of Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Ahmet Metin Arslan, with the game ultimately ending in a draw.
It comes just a couple of weeks after Mata made headlines in the Melbourne derby, netting two spectacular goals and laying on a third in his side's 3-1 victory last month.
Having signed for Victory last September, the former Red has already netted four goals and provided 10 assists in his first 19 games for the club – no wonder Bruno had such faith!
Bruno Fernandes, the ball is in your court 🤣
— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) March 7, 2026
Juan Mata has called on the Manchester United captain to replicate his free-kick in the Big Blue 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HL3heXdiwJ
Juan was told about the viral video of his former United team-mates during a post-match interview, shared above by the A-League on X.
He responded by setting out his hope for Fernandes, often our free-kick taker, to score a similar goal when the Reds return to action against Aston Villa next Sunday.
“I love them and I’m happy they follow the A-League, they follow our games,” Mata said.
“I hope that the next game Bruno can score a similar goal!”