Where does Bruno rank among our Premier League greats?

The playmaker reached 100 Premier League appearances when he stepped out at Craven Cottage, becoming the 57th Red of the Premier League era to reach the milestone.

 

Wearing the captain's armband, he also set up our opening goal in west London, curling a nice ball in behind Fulham's defence for Christian Eriksen to tap home his first goal for the club.

Unfortunately, a slight deflection on the pass means he has not been credited with an official assist by the Premier League. But nevertheless, the Portuguese's astonishing productivity and consistency since joining the club in January 2020 have produced some pretty remarkable figures.

So where does Fernandes rank among United's Premier League greats after reaching the 100-appearances mark?

The assist for Eriksen on Sunday would have been Bruno's 65th goal or assist in a Premier League match, but 64 is still an extremely healthy level of contribution, and puts him right up there with some of the United greats of the modern era.

 

Only Eric Cantona (84), Ruud van Nistelrooy (78) and Dwight Yorke (66) provided more goal involvements in their first 100 league games.

 

Just behind Fernandes is Wayne Rooney, who conjured 63 goals and assists in his first century of appearances. So our no.8 is keeping company with some pretty exalted names and, let's be honest: generally speaking, Cantona, van Nistelrooy and Yorke played in United teams stuffed with serial title winners.

 

That arguably makes Fernandes's efforts even more commendable.

Bruno's first assist came in just his second Premier League appearance, when he swung in a brilliant corner for Harry Maguire to head home against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

 

His first goal followed in our next league match – a 3-0 win over Watford at Old Trafford, where Fernandes tucked home our opener from the penalty spot. He has now provided 38 goals and 26 assists across all of his Premier League games.

He has been named Premier League Player of the Month on four occasions – Cristiano Ronaldo (6) and Wayne Rooney (5) are the only United players to have claimed the prize more often while representing the club.

 

Our Portuguese "magnifico" – as he is sometimes affectionately referred to – is so consistent that it's easy to take his incredible output for granted. But this seems as good a time as any to pause for breath, take stock and acknowledge his massive importance to Manchester United.

 

Nice one, Bruno.