Manchester United were rescued by Anthony Elanga against Atletico Madrid, but there was another player instrumental in their equaliser on Wednesday night.
It was no surprise to see Bruno Fernandes threading the ball through the heart of the Atleti back line for Elanga to race through and beat Jan Oblak one-on-one to make it 1-1.
In the process, Fernandes became the first player in Champions League history to assist in six consecutive appearances while playing for an English club, breaking the record held by David Beckham.
Fernandes is the creator-in-chief for United, and has been ever since he arrived from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.
He has always shouldered responsibility in a red shirt and never shies away during difficult times.
While that approach has generally been hugely effective, returning 49 goals and 39 assists in 114 appearances for the club, it does have its downsides.
When United play badly, Fernandes sometimes resembles a one-man band. He is so passionate and determined to win that he tries too hard and rushes things.
Fernandes will always attempt the most difficult of the passes available to him. While that can sometimes lead to magical assists, most frequently it leads to a loss of possession.
So while Fernandes did provide the key pass for Elanga’s goal in the 80th minute, he also gave the ball away 23 times in Madrid.
That is a way of playing that causes frustration for his team-mates and Ralf Rangnick, who is somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to coaching.
After the match, Rangnick spoke of the need for more “conviction” with the ball and “aggression” without it.
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That is not an accusation that can be levelled at Fernandes, who has turned in countless similar performances like the Atleti one.
He certainly has courage in his convictions, even when things are not going his way. Rather than retreat to playing the percentages when losing, the Portuguese playmaker would prefer to double down on his risky strategy.
This has led to numerous frustrating matches when the United fans in the stands spend the whole game moaning when the 27-year-old gives the ball away.
Fernandes gave the ball away 26 times in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle in December 2021 and he did so a staggering 34 times in the infamous 2-1 defeat by Istanbul Basaksehir in November 2020.
Yet there is an argument to be made that Fernandes’ team-mates are to blame for his lack of care on the ball.
If he shared the creative responsibility with others, then perhaps he wouldn’t be so prone to mistakes on the ball.
The quality of United’s midfield has long been a bone of contention for fans, who have called for reinforcement in the past two transfer windows.
The most frequent midfield partnership of Fred and Scott McTominay simply doesn’t offer enough penetration in possession. Both are most defensively minded and are not well equipped to provide the ammunition for United’s strikers.
Paul Pogba, who played alongside Fred against Atleti, is an exception and has contributed eight assists this season – four shy of Fernandes’ tally of 12.
But Pogba is out of contract in July and is widely expected to leave on a free transfer this summer. Without him, United will be even weaker in terms of creativity from central areas.
Debates around United’s transfer priorities are usually centred around the need for a world-class holding midfielder, to upgrade on Fred and McTominay.
And while Declan Rice would undoubtedly be a fantastic signing at Old Trafford, the Atleti game, and Fernandes’ performance in particular, highlighted another growing need.
If United manage to sign another creatively-minded midfielder this summer, then perhaps Fernandes’ passing output can be refined.
The Portuguese midfielder is hardly the biggest problem for Rangnick to solve at the moment, but his performance on Wednesday should at the very minimum provide food for thought.
