‘Absolutely vital’ – Manchester United’s record without Bruno Fernandes as major warning issued

‘Absolutely vital’ – Manchester United’s record without Bruno Fernandes as major warning issued:

They say the best ability is availability and Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes is the epitome of it.

The Portuguese has missed just eight 17 games in all competitions – nine in the Premier League – since joining the Red Devils in January 2020.

Fernandes’ reliability is unmatched at Old Trafford as is his ability to deliver when United have needed a moment of inspiration.

The 31-year-old has registered more minutes than any other top-level player in world football since his arrival at Manchester United.

But Ruben Amorim’s men will have to do without their talismanic figure for a few matches after he picked up a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

Fernandes has been practically immune to injury since completing a £67.6million switch from Sporting CP but now Amorim must find a way to navigate around the festive fixtures without him.

Manchester United’s record with and without Fernandes

But in what might be a surprise to many, Manchester United have fared relatively well without Fernandes.

In the 17 games Fernandes has missed, United hold a win percentage of 47.10 per cent having picked up eight wins from that sequence of matches.

United have drawn three and lost six without the Portuguese pulling the strings in midfield.

The Red Devils have netted 26 goals across those games – an average of 1.5 goals per game while conceding 24 – an average of 1.4 goals per game.

While the stats will give United encouragement over the next few games, there is little doubt that Fernandes has been a huge factor in the team’s successes in recent years.

With 308 matches clocked up for the Red Devils, Fernandes has been on the winning side 158 times with 71 draws and 79 losses in that time.

Bruno Fernandes appeared dejected after the 2-1 defeat at Villa ParkGetty
Man United’s record with and without Bruno Fernandes

United have scored 545 goals with the Portuguese in the team – an average of 1.8 goals per game.

The 20-time Premier League champions have conceded 389 goals over the same period, shipping an average of 1.3 per game.

Manchester United have a marginally better win percentage with Fernandes in the team at 51.30 per cent.

Fernandes missed just one game in his covid-affected first campaign at Old Trafford before missing a further three the following season.

The midfielder missed just three games in the 2021/22 season, a further three in 2022/23 and four in the 2023/24 campaign.

And last season he was sidelined for the games against Fenerbahce, Brentford and Newcastle.

The Portuguese star has been pivotal to Manchester United again this seasonGetty
Ruben Amorim must find a way to fill the void left by FernandesGetty

The Red Devils have not won any of their last six games without him.

Fernandes is set to miss another meeting with the Magpies on Boxing Day due to the injury sustained at Villa Park.

To make matters worse Fernandes could miss up to a month of action which would see his potentially miss seven matches.

What did Amorim say about Fernandes’ injury?

Speaking about the injury, Amorim said: “I think it’s a soft-tissue injury so it’s going to be a while. He is a guy who is always fit so we hope he can recover well. We will see.

“It’s an injury and sometimes it’s bad luck or something else at the same time. You can never control these things.

“We will need to find solutions and we cannot use anything as an excuse. We need to prepare all the guys that we have for the next game.

“No one is going to remember these problems, so let’s cope with that. It will make us stronger.”

Man United will miss Fernandes

Speaking on White and Jordan, Martin O’Neil underlined just how much of a game changer Fernandes is.

He said: “I thought that him coming off at half time was the changing of the game because when they step out for the second half, Aston Villa are aware that he is not on the side. What have they done? They put in a central defender.

“Lisandro Martínez into midfield with Manuel Ugarte, there’s going to be no productivity from them. 

“From a game in which Manchester United dominated in the first half, the psychological feeling in the second half is that Aston Villa can get control of the midfield. That’s exactly what they did. So in turn, he is vital to them. He is absolutely vital.”