Virginia Borges likes to joke that she knew her son would be a footballer before he was born. Little Bruno was \u201ckicking all the time\u201d throughout her pregnancy.<\/strong><\/p>\n In adulthood, Bruno Fernandes\u2019 legs have scarcely been given any respite. The divisive figure who arrived at Manchester United from Sporting CP at the start of 2020 has barely missed a game. Across multiple years since switching Lisbon for Lancashire, the players\u2019 union FIFPro has flagged Fernandes as the most frequently used footballer on the planet.<\/p>\n However, there have been fleeting occasions when United have been forced to take to the field without their talisman capable of a temper tantrum. Here\u2019s how the Red Devils have fared in those sporadic instances.<\/p>\n Bruno Fernandes is Manchester United\u2019s creative hub \/ Robbie Jay Barratt \u2013 AMA\/GettyImages<\/p>\n Fernandes has featured in 95% of\u00a0Manchester United\u2018s matches across all competitions since his arrival in January 2020. Effectively, United\u2019s fortunes have been his and vice versa.<\/p>\n It all started so well. Fernandes didn\u2019t lose any of his first 17 appearances in a United shirt, directly contributing to 16 goals in this sequence as the team\u2019s new attacking linchpin. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer\u2019s flawed side had the fleet-footed forwards to hare up the pitch in transition and Fernandes\u2019 high-volume, high-risk approach to ball progression perfectly suited this style.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s definitely a brave boy. He sees the pass,\u201d Solskjaer said of the dynamic number ten. \u201cSometimes I might tear my hair out and say that there\u2019s an easier pass \u2026 but you can\u2019t take that away from Bruno. You want him to be the X-factor.\u201d<\/p>\n The delicate balance of United\u2019s risky strategy began to tilt away from Solskjaer\u2019s control after the summer of 2020. Yet,\u00a0Fernandes\u00a0was the driving force behind a team of individuals that just about kept the former treble winner in a job. Never was this more evident than United\u2019s trip to West Ham United\u2019s London Stadium in December 2020. Trailing 1-0 at the break with Fernandes on the bench, Solskjaer turned to his Portuguese saviour to inspire a second-half comeback.<\/p>\n Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s arrival ahead of the 2021\/22 campaign coincided with a dip in form for Fernandes. The legendary but leggy Portuguese veteran lacked the pace or discipline to work alongside Fernandes \u2013 or in any modern team \u2013 and by November Solskjaer was gone. Ronaldo followed a year later after United slumped to sixth at the end of his debut season. Only once in the past three decades have the club ever finished lower in the league table.<\/p>\n Erik ten Hag emphatically sided with Fernandes over\u00a0Ronaldo, making the former his skipper after elbowing his compatriot out of the door before the World Cup. For all of the criticism that flies Fernandes\u2019 way \u2013 the effusive midfielder is often a lightning rod during United\u2019s defeats \u2013 Ten Hag has been unwavering in his support.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand it [the criticism],\u201d Ten Hag shrugged after Fernandes scored the only goal of the game in a\u00a0November win over Fulham. \u201cEveryone makes mistakes and no one is perfect, but he does very good things. He shows every time that he is an example as a captain.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruno Fernandes (bottom right) rarely spends any time on Man Utd\u2019s bench \/ Michael Steele\/GettyImages<\/p>\n Somewhat surprisingly, United have a considerably better record without their captain in the team. Without Fernandes pulling the strings, United win more games (73% to 55%), score more goals (2.0 per game to 1.7) and concede fewer (1.1 to 1.2).<\/p>\n Yet, to take those raw numbers in isolation is almost gross negligence.<\/p>\n Fernandes has missed less than a dozen matches in almost four years with the club \u2013 that is a laughably small sample size from which to gain any relevant information. The opposition United have faced during Fernandes\u2019 rare absences skews the data as well.<\/p>\n Almost half of United\u2019s breaks from Bruno have come in the early rounds of cup competition against opponents the club have predictably defeated.<\/p>\n The Portuguese playmaker has been remarkably durable during his time in northern England, missing just one Premier League game through fitness issues; an illness ruled Fernandes out of United\u2019s 3-2 victory over Tottenham in March 2022.<\/p>\n Suspension has been a more pressing concern for Fernandes of late and United have felt the pinch of his enforced absence. An accumulation of yellow cards compelled Fernandes to sit out United\u2019s away trips to\u00a0Aston Villa\u00a0and Sevilla last season \u2013 they were convincing dismantled in both games.<\/p>\n On each occasion, the visitors appeared bereft of attacking impetus without their creator-in-chief and wilted in front of hostile atmospheres.<\/p>\n On Unai Emery\u2019s debut in the Villa dugout, United recorded their lowest xG of the season thus far without Fernandes, slumping to a convincing 3-1 reverse. Four days later, Villa travelled to Old Trafford and lost 4-2, with Fernandes scoring and creating half of the hosts\u2019 triumphant haul.<\/p>\n Sevilla\u2019s Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium was practically shaking for the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final last term. Played to an unrelenting backdrop of bouncing white shirts in the stands, Fernandes watched his teammates get bullied into a 3-0 defeat. The victorious manager Jose Luis Mendilibar was not wrong when he surmised: \u201cIt went well for everyone, we won 3-0 against Man Utd, without too many scares.\u201d<\/p>\n Ominously, United\u2019s next match without Fernandes is a trip to Liverpool\u2019s Anfield home.<\/p>\n
\nMan Utd\u2019s record with Bruno Fernandes<\/h2>\n
![\"Bruno](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/01hha02m33dksx5zrz5m.jpg\" "\\"Bruno")
<\/figure>\n\n\n
\n Competition<\/strong><\/th>\n Games<\/strong><\/th>\n Wins<\/strong><\/th>\n Draws<\/strong><\/th>\n Losses<\/strong><\/th>\n Team goals<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n Premier League<\/td>\n 140<\/td>\n 75<\/td>\n 32<\/td>\n 33<\/td>\n 227:165<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Champions League<\/td>\n 18<\/td>\n 7<\/td>\n 3<\/td>\n 8<\/td>\n 38:33<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Europa League<\/td>\n 25<\/td>\n 16<\/td>\n 6<\/td>\n 3<\/td>\n 53:19<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n FA Cup<\/td>\n 14<\/td>\n 9<\/td>\n 2<\/td>\n 3<\/td>\n 26:16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n EFL Cup<\/td>\n 10<\/td>\n 7<\/td>\n 0<\/td>\n 3<\/td>\n 18:8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total<\/td>\n 207<\/td>\n 114<\/td>\n 43<\/td>\n 50<\/td>\n 362:241<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n
\nMan Utd\u2019s record without Bruno Fernandes<\/h2>\n
![\"Marcus](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/01hha0grfa79n97dtmv3.jpg\" "\\"Marcus")
<\/figure>\n\n\n
\n Date<\/strong><\/th>\n Competition<\/strong><\/th>\n Result<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n 05\/08\/20<\/td>\n Europa League<\/td>\n Man Utd 2-1 LASK<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 30\/09\/20<\/td>\n EFL Cup<\/td>\n Brighton 0-3 Man Utd<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 09\/01\/21<\/td>\n FA Cup<\/td>\n Man Utd 1-0 Watford<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 23\/05\/21<\/td>\n Premier League<\/td>\n Wolves 1-2 Man Utd<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 08\/12\/21<\/td>\n Champions League<\/td>\n Man Utd 1-1 Young Boys<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 30\/12\/21<\/td>\n Premier League<\/td>\n Man Utd 3-1 Burnley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 12\/03\/22<\/td>\n Premier League<\/td>\n Man Utd 3-2 Tottenham<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 06\/11\/22<\/td>\n Premier League<\/td>\n Aston Villa 3-1 Man Utd<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10\/01\/23<\/td>\n EFL Cup<\/td>\n Man Utd 3-0 Charlton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 20\/04\/23<\/td>\n Europa League<\/td>\n Sevilla 3-0 Man Utd<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 26\/09\/23<\/td>\n EFL Cup<\/td>\n Man Utd 3-0 Crystal Palace<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n