Bruno Fernandes shone in Manchester United's 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, closing in on a historic David Beckham record and solidifying his importance to the team, especially since Michael Carrick took the helm, succeeding Ruben Amorim.
The Red Devils' captain was the man of the match at Old Trafford, contributing a goal and an assist in his team's comeback. With this performance, the Portuguese midfielder now has 13 assists in the current Premier League season, just two shy of matching the club record for a single season, set by David Beckham in 1999/2000 with 15 goal-creating passes.
Sunday's match didn't start well for United, with Maxence Lacroix opening the scoring for Crystal Palace just four minutes in. However, Lacroix would later become a protagonist for the wrong reasons, fouling Matheus Cunha inside the box, which resulted in a penalty and his sending off. Bruno Fernandes didn't waste the opportunity, converting the spot-kick to level the score.
The Portuguese international delivered another decisive moment in the game with a precise cross that Benjamin Sesko headed home for the winning goal. With ten matchdays still to play, the possibility of Bruno Fernandes surpassing Beckham's two-decade-old record is becoming increasingly real. The all-time Premier League assist record in a single season is held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, with 20.
This was the 18th Premier League game in which Bruno Fernandes both scored and assisted since his debut in February 2020. In this period, only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has achieved this feat on more occasions (27). In Manchester United's history, only Wayne Rooney (35) and Ryan Giggs (22) surpass the Portuguese in this particular statistic.
Bruno Fernandes' excellent run of form coincides with Michael Carrick taking over as the team's head coach. Under the guidance of Ruben Amorim's successor, the midfielder has tallied two goals and six assists in seven league games, meaning almost half of his league assists have come with Carrick in the dugout.
The decision to appoint Carrick has proven to be a shrewd one, with Manchester United securing six wins and one draw in their last seven league matches. This string of positive results has propelled the team into third place in the table, strengthening their bid for a spot in the next edition of the Champions League.
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