Bruno Fernandes scored both goals in Manchester United’s 2-1 win over West Ham at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, the first from the penalty spot and the second a sublime strike from 20 yards out.
Manchester United warm-up at MetLife Stadium
Ruben Amorim hailed the enduring value and leadership of captain Bruno Fernandes after he inspired Manchester United to victory in their US tour opener.
Fernandes scored both goals in United’s 2-1 win over West Ham at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, the first from the penalty spot and the second a sublime strike from 20 yards out.
The United skipper said he would have happily left in the summer, with Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal willing to pay £100million for him, if the club decided it was time to cash in on their prized asset.
But United stuck to their stance that Fernandes was not for sale, despite the huge offer from Al Hilal for a player who turns 31 in less than two months.
And after Fernandes produced a man-of-the-match display to get United’s Stateside tour off to a winning start, boss Amorim underlined why he remains such a key player.
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“It was so clear last season,” said Amorim. “You can see it in the assists, the goals, but not just that. I think now he has more players [around him]. I’ve felt that on the tour. I feel that now there are more players to help him to lead the group. That is a good thing.
“But he’s our leader, so he’s really important. Not just on the field, but also off the field. He leads by example. He works really hard, is always available and sometimes he plays with pain.
“The problem is that sometimes he gets frustrated and sometimes he loses a little bit of the focus of his job. Sometimes he wants to help his team-mates so much that sometimes it’s not the best thing to do.
“They all have to learn. They have to do their job. Bruno also has to wait for the ball in different situations. This kind of thing is what a leader does, but he needs help and he’s going to have help.
“Bruno has a function or a position for every game. It’s impossible to play in all of the positions. Last year I felt that sometimes I pushed him back, to have more possession in the build-up, and then we missed Bruno near the box.
“I think with different characteristics, with Matheus Cunha, with Bryan Mbeumo, I really like Kobbie Mainoo’s game, I think he will have more help this season.
“Bruno runs a lot. Maybe in the sprint he’s a different player, but he runs a lot. He has a lot of endurance. He’s smart. The physicality of Bruno is not the concern. He’s ready for the physicality, playing deep or as a midfielder.”
Amorim picked a strong team against West Ham and revealed he did so because he needs the team that is likely to start the season to get up to speed as quickly as possible.
“It was a strong team because we need to prepare all the players,” said Amorim. “We needed to take this game seriously. We don’t have a lot of weeks, a lot of games to prepare all of the team, but that can change. It’s rare that the team plays more than an hour on their first tour game.
“But I was expecting this from the team at this moment. We have all the data, all the information. We know that at this stage they can cope with 70 minutes with a high tempo. So it wasn’t a surprise.”
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