Erik ten Hag has heaped praise on Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes after he inspired the Red Devils to a 4-2 comeback victory over Sheffield United on Wednesday night.
Three days on from scraping past Coventry City on penalties in the FA Cup semi-finals, Man United were staring down the barrel at a 13th Premier League defeat of the season, as Ben Brereton Diaz put the Blades 2-1 in front five minutes into the second half, after Harry Maguire had previously cancelled out a Jayden Bogle opener in the first 45.
However, Fernandes came to the rescue for Ten Hag's side, as he contributed to three goals in the final half hour to help the Red Devils claim three valuable points in their quest to secure a top-six finish.
The Portuguese playmaker restores parity for Man United from the penalty spot, before firing a 25-yard screamer into the top corner nine minutes from time, and there was still time left for the Red Devils' skipper to tee up Rasmus Hojlund for his first goal since February.
Fernandes has prolonged his purple patch with two goals against Sheffield United; the 29-year-old has now scored seven goals in his last five appearances in all competitions and has 15 goals to his name in all competitions, more than any other Red Devils player thus far.
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Ten Hag talks up Bruno brilliance
Speaking about Fernandes's recent form and performance against Sheffield United, Ten Hag told reporters: "He is really leading the team. I'm very happy with his performance.
"I think we put him in the right position, he found the right spots, he also made the right decisions. He can create a lot, he can score goals, provide assists, give key actions. I'm very pleased with his performance.
"He shows his leadership and energy during transitions both ways, which is very important. He always tries to encourage the team. He's doing very well and we are very pleased with his performances and attitude.
"He's very consistent. At the moment he's in very good form. We are striving to progress the team. The number of goals we are scoring in this moment is a huge progress. If we have our back four back, then I'm sure we will be more consistent."
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Fernandes striving to improve
Commenting on his performance and the result for Man United, Fernandes told reporters: "I'm really happy to score, but I want to win games more than score goals.
"It's part of my role also, to score goals. But the main thing for me is winning games. Lately we haven't won as many as we should have.
"It's part of the job. You can win eight or nine games in a row, and then as soon as you lose you know you will be criticised. Being a Manchester United player demands winning games."
"We talk about clean sheets all the time and we want to keep them. Credit to Sheffield United," Fernandes added. "At the end we came back. We put ourselves in a position where it's tough to win games. But also it shows a bit of character.
"We also need to be aware that if we control the game like we did in the first half, we have to score our chances. We're scoring lots of goals. It's just about that compactness we need to have as a team."
Victory over Sheffield United has helped Man United boost their European hopes and climb above Newcastle United into sixth place in the Premier League table. The Red Devils will endeavour to consolidate their place in the Europa League positions with success over Burnley on Saturday.
Oliver Thomas
