Man United captain Bruno Fernandes scored and provided four assists for Portugal during the Euro 2024 qualifier vs Luxembourg.
Manchester United supporters are excited at what Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund can cook up together at the club after the Portugal star’s jaw-dropping performance for his country.
Having allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to depart under controversial circumstances last season, United waited to snap-up their permanent replacement for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. In the end, they settled on Hojlund and spent £73million for the privilege as he signed from Italian side Atalanta this summer.
Hojlund gave United a glimpse of what they can expect from the Denmark sensation during his impressive debut – from their substitutes bench – against Arsenal before the international break. Fernandes, meanwhile, has offered up another timely reminder – or five – of exactly what he’s capable of.
Starting for Portugal against Luxembourg on Monday night, the 29-year-old playmaker teed-up Goncalo Inacio for two goals in almost identical fashion in the opening 45 minutes. Fernandes made his mark, once again, shortly after the restart at the Algarve Stadium with his third assist of the game – for Liverpool star Diogo Jota.
Needless to say, that has set pulses racing at Old Trafford and beyond. United resume their Premier League quest against Brighton on Saturday afternoon (3pm) at their iconic stadium.
And captain Fernandes is clearly in fantastic form before that showdown. Inacio and former United transfer target, Goncalo Ramos, both grabbed doubles – as did Jota – with Ricardo Horta also scoring.
But it was the No.8 from United who took centre stage. His first assist for Inacio was beautifully sent in during the second phase of a corner routine, with Fernandes delivering with the outside of his right foot before then using an instep to find Inacio, once again, from an identical situation to make it 4-0.
His third assist – for Jota – came from open play as Fernandes picked the ball up from deep and clipped neatly over the top for the Liverpool forward. He was not done there, either, as the former Sporting Lisbon playmaker not only added his name to the scoresheet but grabbed another assist as rampant Portugal ran out 9-0 winners.
