Gary Neville has broken down Bruno Fernandes’ Manchester United debut – and branded it a tale of two halves.
Fernandes was deployed in a more advanced role in the first half, taking three shots on goal and having more touches than any of his United team-mates.
But club legend Neville felt he demonstrated more promise as he dropped into a more deep-lying role after the break, forming a partnership with a rejuvenated Fred he believes has the makings of a strong double-act.
🗣 @VLindelof on @B_Fernandes8: "He only had one training session and it's not easy to come in. I think he a did a good job and showed the qualities he can give us."#MUFC pic.twitter.com/wnZ7sWsy7K
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 2, 2020
All eyes were on the former Sporting Lisbon player, Bruno Fernandes in his first appearance since a big-money move to Old Trafford for a fee which could potentially rise to £67.8million – and Neville delivered his verdict on Sky Sports after the 0-0 draw.
“But when he was moved into a holding midfielder role in the second half alongside Fred, I actually thought he did quite well to show a lot of experience and discipline and not expose himself too much.”
Neville saw enough to take the positives from Fernandes’ composed start but felt a positional switch paid dividends after initially comparing his efforts in the number 10 role to those of Sebastian Veron, who struggled to fit in during his time as a Manchester United player between 2001 and 2003. Former Red Devil defender and captain, Gary Neville told as below to Sky Sports regarding Bruno Fernandes:
“It’s early days but I like what he did,” f. “I thought he did okay, it was a difficult game for him.
“We’ve heard a lot about his assists and his goals and how he can affect games at the front of the pitch, but when he was moved into more of a holding midfield role alongside Fred in the second half I actually thought he did quite well.
“He charged around everywhere and moved everywhere. He was busy and was looking for spaces but didn’t really play in a position.
“I preferred him in the second half when he was a little more controlled and I thought it was a decent debut from him.
“Fred has emerged in recent weeks and those two could control games – there is some promise there.”
The draw against Nuno’s Wolverhampton Wanderers meant that the Red Devils dropped two places to seventh with Jose Mourinho’s Spurs and Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United moved up the table in the Premier League.
