Before Manchester United – Manchester City: How Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo became complementary

The most skeptical feared an incompatibility, imagined that the field of action of one reduced that of the other. Between Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, alchemy must have been impossible; this was what the cohabitation of the two men in the Portuguese selection suggested, it was also an abstract reasoning taking into account areas of influence. That, enormous, of the midfielder since his arrival at Manchester United. And the other, colossal, of the attacker wherever he went.

After the ten matches they played together in the Mancunian jersey, the debates have already evolved. The Portuguese are two trees that hide the forest and their impact on the game and the results of the Red Devils is considerable. Between them, “O Capitão” and his lieutenant were directly involved in 19 of the 27 goals scored by Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer’s team, or 70%. The incompatibility thesis has already taken a serious hit.

(Re) here is therefore an objection which has a bright future ahead of it, the supposed theory according to which CR7 is a balloon magnet being much more difficult to concretize with facts or figures. Unless Bruno Fernandes arrives one day in front of the microphones to admit that he seeks above all to serve his compatriot without worrying about the situation or the positions of his other teammates, we will never know if this is indeed the case. Even if this idea certainly does not stem from completely irrational reasoning …

Less decisive … really?

If the performance of the playmaker is still questioned, despite the figures you read above, it is because he is not quite in line with what he was before the “come -back “from the superstar. Last season, Bruno Fernandes scored 28 goals and delivered 17 assists in all competitions and this record attested to the omnipotence of the man who himself embodied the renewal of Manchester United. This season, the 27-year-old has scored just 4 goals … including 3 in a game Ronaldo did not play.

Hence the corollary, which mostly looks like a shortcut: Manchester is not doing so well because its technical leader is no longer as influential. Questionable. Because the player revealed to Sporting has, little by little, found new benchmarks. He has already accumulated seven assists: one in each of the Red Devils’ last seven games, except for the humiliation suffered against Liverpool.

The Lusitanian international is still a formidable machine for opening up breaches, even if his team is still struggling, overall, to have a grip on the game. Statistically, he also creates more opportunities than last season, at the times in the Premier League (3.7 on average per match against 2.6 in 2020/2021) and in C1 (4 against 2.5).

Although the increase in the number of matches should smooth these numbers, they also stem from the new role assumed by the midfielder. Bruno Fernandes’ influence is actually just as great as it was before. She’s just further away from the opposing goal, due to the presence of you know who.

Fernandes the instinct, Ronaldo the robot

Able to multiply the calls in depth or to bring excess in the opponent’s area, the former Sporting has evolved into a register of No. 10 that we thought had disappeared. Its area of ​​influence extends over the wings, around the surface but also more than 30 meters from the opponent’s goal. Moreover, the analysis of his seven assists does not say anything else:

• Two were delivered by centers from the left;
• Two were delivered by centers from the right;
• One started from the axis, 20 meters away;
• One started from the axis, 40 meters away;
• And the last, facing Atalanta, with a heel in the area.

Bruno Fernandes now acts as the creative leader of a team with the best finisher in the world. It is instinct. Ronaldo is the robot. Of the nine goals CR7 has scored since his return, all have come after one or two touches of the ball. Was the midfielder looking for his goalscorer a lot? May be. But he also finds it more and more often. Their qualities make huge differences and it is not the Spurs who will say the opposite.