Fernandes wins Player of the Month... again!
Bruno Fernandes has won Manchester United’s Player of the Month award for November.
It’s the fifth time in eight months that the Portuguese playmaker has claimed the accolade, highlighting the extraordinary impact he’s had on the side since signing in January.
In truth, Bruno was the runaway winner of our fans’ vote, at the end of a month which started poorly but ended with the Reds claiming four successive wins in all competitions, for the first time this season.
WHY BRUNO WON
After quiet showings in the defeats to Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir, Bruno burst into life at Everton, netting a quickfire first-half brace to help the Reds recover from being a goal down. He then assisted Edinson Cavani for his first United goal, to claim a deserved Man-of-the-Match award.
A converted penalty against West Brom – after his first effort had been saved, albeit with Sam Johnstone off his line – was enough to secure a 1-0 victory, before another stunning brace, this time against Basaksehir at Old Trafford.
Fernandes hammered United into the lead with a wonder strike early on – his 20th goal for the club in just his 35th game, a new record for a Reds midfielder. He would soon add a second, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side going on to win 4-1.
And there was still time for a sixth November strike, as well as another assist, as he played a crucial role in United recovering from another early setback on the road, to see off Southampton 3-2.
THE KEY STATS
Bruno Fernandes is the fourth Manchester United player to score in five consecutive away games in the Premier League after Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002 & 2003), Robin van Persie (2013) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2017).
The 26-year-old has more goal involvements since his debut (36 in 36 in all competitions) than any other Premier League player.
Of those who have scored more than 20 goals for United, only five players have a better strike-rate than Fernandes (as of 1 December 2020).
Ruud, Robin, Zlatan... and now Bruno!
ArticleFind out why our Portuguese magnifico is listed alongside some of Old Trafford's greatest-ever strikers.
WHO ELSE WAS NOMINATED?
Brazilian midfielder Fred came second in the vote, as he built on an impressive October and started each of our wins.
Harry Maguire was third, with a clean sheet against West Brom and a strong performance at Everton among his standout moments.
2020/21 WINNERS SO FAR
September: Juan Mata
October: Marcus Rashford
November: Bruno Fernandes