Manchester United continued their march towards the Champions League with a vital victory over Brentford at Old Trafford.
Match story
An early goal from Casemiro and a strike by Benjamin Sesko just before half-time gave the Reds a 2-0 lead.
Brilliance from Senne Lammens kept Brentford at bay until Mathias Jensen curled in a consolation just before full time.
In another key moment of the match, Bruno Fernandes grabbed another assist, his nineteenth of the Premier League season.
He is now just one behind Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, and has four games to grab the two assists he needs.
Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes created United’s second goal when he ran at the Brentford defence and timed his pass to perfection for Sesko to fire home.
His creativity was on show as he created two big chances in the match and played an incredible six key passes.
He played in Amad, but his goal was correctly ruled offside. The Ivorian also should have done better when he headed directly at the Brentford keeper after Fernandes’ sumptuous cross.
The Portugal international completed two crosses in the game and a solid 85% of his passes.
The attacking midfielder unusually did not take any shots at goal and did not complete any dribbles.
As usual, he worked hard defensively, winning 100% of his tackle attempts.
He made one interception and won one aerial duel in the match. He was poor in ground contests though, winning just one of five.
Fernandes will hope to continue his fine form and get closer to the assist record when United welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford this coming Sunday.
Bruno Fernandes stats vs Brentford
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Expected assists (xA) | 0.61 |
| Big chances created | 2 |
| Key passes | 6 |
| Crosses (accurate) | 6 (2) |
| Accurate passes | 40/47 (85%) |
| Passes in opposition half (acc.) | 23/27 (85%) |
| Passes in own half (acc.) | 17/20 (85%) |
| Long balls (accurate) | 2/3 (67%) |
| Total shots | 0 |
| Shots on target | 0 |
| Shots blocked | 0 |
| Touches | 63 |
| Unsuccessful touches | 1 |
| Dribbles (successful) | 1 (0) |
| Possession lost | 16 |
| Total carrying distance | 206.3 m |
| Carries | 14 |
| Progressive carries | 4 |
| Total progression | 89 m |
| Progressive carrying distance | 99.3 m |
| Longest progressive carry | 37.1 m |
| Def. contributions | 2 |
| Tackles (won) | 1 (1) |
| Interceptions | 1 |
| Clearances | 0 |
| Blocked shots | 0 |
| Recoveries | 7 |
| Ground duels (won) | 5 (1) |
| Aerial duels (won) | 2 (1) |
| Dribbled past | 1 |
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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