It was once again Bruno Fernandes who grabbed Manchester United all three points against Leicester City to help United keep up some momentum in terms of fixtures following the win against Real Sociedad and a solid draw against Arsenal.
At the heart of all of this was Bruno Fernandes and he has been very impressive in all of these performances. With an international break and then two tricky fixtures in terms of a visit to the City Ground against high-flying Nottingham Forest followed by a visit from City rivals, United have a big week.
The question will be, can the captain be the catalyst he has been in recent fixtures or will the question marks about his credentials creep back in from pundits and fans alike?
How has Bruno adapted?
Since fellow compatriot Ruben Amorim arrived, he has been trying to get the best out of his players to play his favoured system and Bruno has been no exception to this as he has had to fill in many different roles alongside lots of different teammates. However, Amorim seems to have found the role for him.
As a 10, Bruno did struggle to impact the game as much as he did as the spearhead of a three, and alongside Christian Eriksen in a deeper role the pair looked exposed. However, with a player on his side like Casemiro but more importantly Manuel Ugarte, Bruno has had the freedom to play his long spraying balls but also been given the chance to play those first-time balls, that he is so good at, as these two bombard the opposition midfield with tough tackling.
In the past three games, Bruno's output has improved as well with goals in all three (five in total) and two assists (against Leicester City). His assists against Leicester moved him up alongside names like Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, and Eric Cantona in the Manchester United record books as he now has 50 assists in the Premier League. With just one off the legendary Frenchman, Bruno is making an argument for being considered a United legend given the teams he has played in during his time.
Can it last?
The question will remain can Bruno play this deeper role against the bigger sides? He struggled significantly against Liverpool in the 2-2 draw and the 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. The argument back, which is clear is that the players are adapting to Amorim's demands and what he wants his players to do. He is learning just as much as others but it is clicking with Fernandes than others.
One aspect of Fernandes' game that has improved is his work rate. That may sound as if he was not "putting the effort in" but on the contrary, Bruno has now been working hard in the middle of the park in better aspects rather than "playing the hero" at times. It is not his best game to press from the front but making up ground, like he does week in and week out, you see a better side of Fernandes when he is focussing on one aspect of work rate.
With pundits on his back about performance and leadership, Bruno responded in the perfect manner. He will now need to keep that up especially in the Europa League against Lyon next month.