Bruno Fernandes makes things tick for Man United. But he can't do it for every minute of every game

A roar, a fist pump and a rousing gesture to the Manchester United fans to get behind their team, who were trailing 3-2 against Nottingham Forest.

It was trademark Bruno Fernandes, sweetly finishing a move he exquisitely started with a volleyed pass, trying to drag his team from the depths of despair after two unnecessary errors had left them in a big hole.

The Portuguese attacking midfielder embodies the qualities Ruben Amorim wants from his players: heart and hunger, a captain who leads by example, whose body language can galvanise a squad; a communicator whose presence ripples throughout the spine of the team.

The 30-year-old is at the centre of United’s creativity, the lynchpin who connects his team, illustrated by his role in their 18th-minute equaliser. A sharp bit of movement to get away from his marker allowed Matthijs de Ligt to play him in and with one touch he released Manuel Ugarte to trigger the attack.

This is how Amorim wants his team to play.

“They (central defenders) have to have more confidence, not just to take the ball, but also to put the ball between the lines,” said Amorim. “The first goal is to play like that.”

The United captain combined well with Leny Yoro and Amad Diallo on the right, exchanging neat one-twos. One of those combinations led to his shot curling wide of the post in the early stages while he was also alert to Amad lurking near the penalty spot from a free-kick. Later on in the first half, when the hosts tried to transition quickly, it was Fernandes who released Alejandro Garnacho on the left but his shot did not trouble Matz Sels. He is also a threat from set pieces as shown in the 41st minute when his free-kick rattled the crossbar.

The heartbeat of United’s team — he is the only outfield player alongside De Ligt to have started every one of Amorim’s six games — we are not used to seeing Fernandes being substituted. In fact before Amorim took charge, the last time he was taken off was in August, in the 79th minute against Brighton & Hove Albion. For the last five seasons, he has played more than 90 per cent of the team’s total minutes with an average of at least 84 minutes per league game.

As the table below shows, in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, he registered the most number of minutes for an outfield player (3,862 and 5,163 respectively), while last season, excluding the goalkeeper Andre Onana, only Diogo Dalot registered marginally more minutes (79).

With United leading 4-0 against Everton last weekend, you can understand why Amorim replaced Fernandes in the 66th minute. But at 3-2 down against Forest, if United were going to score again, you would have been pretty safe to bet the Portugal international was going to be involved. He is in great form under Amorim too — and has now either scored (three goals) or assisted (four assists) in five consecutive Premier League home games for the very first time.

But the head coach said even with hindsight he would still have brought on Mason Mount for Fernandes in the 76th minute.

“I understand that Bruno is really dangerous near the box,” Amorim said after the game. “But he was tired and we transitioned. I felt with Mason Mount, he is also good at set pieces. He can score because he is very technical. We need fresh legs and if you see the games, transitions, we can lose the ball. If you suffered another goal, it was over. With a lot of games I felt that Bruno was a little bit tired.”

Fernandes is not infallible. That was seen when he lost possession which led to Forest’s second goal in the 47th minute. His deliveries from corners were also poor, failing to beat the first man on occasions.

But if Amorim is managing his compatriot’s minutes, other players need to step up. Mount, Zirksee and Marcus Rashford had little impact on the game and Fernandes’ absence accentuates the lack of presence from those left on the pitch. Without their general Duracell bunny, United’s performance dipped as they tried to find another equaliser late on.

Amorim referenced how hard it is to find the energy having conceded so early on but they managed to dig deep in the first half.

“Then in the second half, the same thing,” Amorim said. “You feel it in everybody, the fans, the players, it is really hard to transmit something… continue to do your job. We managed to score one more, but it was more like we wanted (it) but with not a lot of quality.”

United cannot solely rely on one player, and while Fernandes, whose contract expires in 2027, will be instrumental to relaying Amorim’s messages as he gets to grips with the Premier League, his coach has to build a team beyond him.

United have deep-rooted problems and playing Fernandes all the time does not magically solve them and may cause even further problems down the line.

(Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)