Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes registered an assist for Portugal against Poland on Saturday evening in a 3-1 win in Warsaw – but despite his output, the Red Devils star’s performance was labelled as ‘suspicious’ after missing two gilt-edged opportunities in the second half.
Fernandes has not been at his best for United this season, failing to score so far under Erik ten Hag with the club languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table; but his quality is evident and that sees him continue to start in Portugal’s national team alongside the likes of Ruben Neves and Bernardo Silva in midfield. He registered a delightful assist for Silva in the first half to showcase his talents, but the Portugal star has divided opinion amongst Portuguese outlets after a ‘suspicious’ outing that saw him become wasteful in front of goal.
Fernandes ‘Suspicious’ Despite Assist in Portugal Win
The United star produced good and bad moments in Poland

Portuguese outlet A Bola reported Fernandes’ performance as being ‘suspicious’, giving him a rating of 7/10; adding that he isn’t anywhere near his best form at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes’s Premier League statistics – Man Utd squad ranking, 2023/24 |
||
---|---|---|
Stats |
Output |
Squad rank |
Appearances |
35 |
4th |
Goals |
10 |
=1st |
Assists |
8 |
1st |
Key Passes Per Game |
3.3 |
1st |
Through Balls Per Game |
0.3 |
1st |
Match rating |
7.39 |
1st |
However, the report further stated he was back to his best for the national team, despite lacking a killer instinct in front of goal where he missed two clear-cut chances early in the second half courtesy of chances created by Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Leao. The newspaper wrote:
“Suspicious. He’s not in the best of times in Manchester, but he returned to his best form in this game.
“He ran, fought, searched, assisted Bernardo Silva for the goal (what subtlety!)… but he lacked that ‘killer instinct’ that takes him to the top. In the 54th and 60th minutes, two chances where he had everything to be happy, are good examples.
“But the night was always level at the top.”
Fernandes Will be Key to United Rediscovering Their Form
When the midfielder plays well, the Red Devils play well

Fernandes is going through the toughest spell of his United career to date, having failed to score for the Red Devils so far this season and recording just four assists in all competitions. Two of those came against Barnsley in the League Cup at Old Trafford, whilst his only assist in the Premier League came in the 3-0 win over Southampton last month, and his only goal for either club or country was against Scotland in September.
His worst season for United came with a 10-goal haul back in the 2021-22 campaign, but with 15 last year, he is miles off that target just yet and will be hoping to get back to his best soon.
‘Suspicious’ performances that A Bola have detailed as lacking a ‘killer instinct’ won’t go a long way to helping that tally increase, but Fernandes still performed well and his assist for Silva was top-notch as he headed into the Manchester City star’s path for him to drill home from eight yards to give Portugal the lead.
Fernandes has quality oozing out of his ears, typified by his 244 games for United registering 79 goals and 70 assists, alongside his 24 goals and 22 assists for Portugal in just 74 caps – and there is no doubt that if United do get back to their best, then Fernandes will be the catalyst for that.

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