It was shortly after an impassioned rant from Roy Keane about the state of Manchester United – a shocking turn of events in itself – that Ruben Amorim felt compelled to stand up for one particular “f***ing imposter” in his squad.
Bruno Fernandes had just scored a clever free-kick against Arsenal which undoubtedly helped his case, but Amorim wanted to underline the Portuguese’s importance further.
“We need more Brunos, that is clear,” he said. “It’s not just the quality and the character. He makes some mistakes but he is so decisive with and without the ball.
“He steps up all the time. He can show some frustration in some moments that can hurt him more than everyone. I understand that. He wants to win.
“But he is always available, can play in different positions and when we need a goal and an assist he is always there.”
The exorcism of a fair few Brighton ghosts suggested “more Brunos” were indeed delivered at great expense in the summer.
Fernandes was integral to the win; no player had more touches, created more chances, had more shots nor made more tackles. And his dummy for the clinching Bryan Mbeumo goal was a piece of extraordinary awareness and skill.
But for the first time since he joined, Manchester United scored four times in a Premier League game without Fernandes being credited with either a goal or an assist.
That does require some erasure of that stoppage-time feint to leave Ayden Heaven’s pass to run through to Mbeumo but it still shows that Manchester United are becoming less cripplingly dependent on their best player.
Mbeumo stepped up. Matheus Cunha, too, with his wonderful opener. And Benjamin Sesko, whose glorious touch, turn and pass set Mbeumo free for his first.
With Casemiro and Luke Shaw chipping in too it was strange to watch a Manchester United side thrive and combine in attack without desperately trying to shift the ball to Fernandes as quickly as possible.
It took until his 300th appearance for the club for others to shoulder more of that responsibility but it’s better late than never. And for his entire Old Trafford career before last weekend it really did feel as though ‘never’ was the far likelier option.
Keane was right when he said “talent is not enough” back in March, and that attitude and application are at least as important in the equation for making the most optimal teams and individuals. But Fernandes always felt like a strange subject to centre that argument around considering the effort he has expended each week for almost six years.
Manchester United have needed more Brunos, more characters, more leaders for far too long. Amorim might finally have got his wish.
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