"Miles above anyone else on the pitch", "Respect for him has increased tenfold" - Fans praise Manchester United star after Man City draw

A section of fans online have praised Bruno Fernandes for his performance during Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Manchester City on Sunday (April 6). The Portuguese midfielder produced a POTM-worthy performance, as the 196th Manchester derby ended in a goalless stalemate.

Little excitement surrounded the clash as both teams are currently far from their best. Going into the game, Manchester United were languishing in the 13th position while their local rivals were fifth.

There were only eight shots in the first 45 minutes, and each team had just one shot on target. The second half came with a little spark, and while City had most of the ball (54%), the Red Devils came close to scoring in the 78th minute. Joshua Zirkzee had his effort parried by Ederson before Mason Mount’s follow-up was blocked by Rico Lewis.

In the end, the spoils were shared as neither side were able to find the back of the net. However, one player who stood out in the encounter was Bruno Fernandes. The midfielder created all three of United’s chances in the first half and was the only player to create multiple chances in the opening 45 minutes.

In addition, Fernandes had a passing accuracy of 93% (40/43), made three key passes, created one big chance, and received a rating of 8.0, as per Sofascore.

After the match, fans praised his overall performance on X. A user wrote:

‘‘My respect for Bruno Fernandes has increased tenfold this season.''

Another tweeted:

‘‘Manchester United with Bruno Fernandes is like watching a YouTuber charity match where they manage to get an ex pro on their team.''

‘‘Poor quality, but Bruno miles above anyone else on the pitch AGAIN! Get him some decent attacking players, and we will score goals,'' @ManUnitedMedia wrote.

‘‘Only if Bruno could pass to himself on our breakaways,'' @ronaldobrown_98 chimed in.

‘‘Just watch Bruno Fernandes...Surrounded by so much mediocrity, so much naivety and yet the levels he is producing right now...He's given his best years to United's worst,'' @DougieCritchley added.

‘‘Bruno Fernandes is levels above the rest of our players. I feel so sorry for him,'' @UtdEIIis wrote.

"He's doing quite well" – Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim on Bruno Fernandes after 0-0 draw with Manchester City

Ruben Amorim spoke highly of Bruno Fernandes after they settled for a draw with their cross-town rivals. Amorim likened Fernandes’ importance for Manchester United to that of Mohamed Salah for Liverpool.

The Portuguese manager told BBC Match of the Day:

‘‘That is clear but you look at other teams and they have players who are essential. If you look at Liverpool with [Mohamed] Salah, the difference that he makes. Bruno is our player in that department. He's doing quite well. Everybody has to improve and Bruno has to step up a little bit more next year because he has really big quality."

Both teams remain rooted in their previous positions on the league table.