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And breathe! Manchester United completed a comeback for the ages as they knocked out Liverpool from the FA Cup courtesy of a remarkable 4-3 win at Old Trafford.
The tie, which went into extra time, saw a renaissance for many maligned players like Antony, Amad, and Marcus Rashford, who had been the target of the ire of United fans and pundits alike.
However, one player whose performance is going slightly under the radar is that of Bruno Fernandes.
The Portuguese, who looked like he could collapse on the ground at any moment as full-time neared, put in a shift that will go down in United legends.
He typified what Manchester United should mean to a player in the second half of extra time though, when he made a remarkable position change.
Recognising that he could no longer keep up with the speed of United’s attack due to running out of energy, he refashioned himself into a centre-back.
Thus, “quarterback” Bruno was born as he could be seen taking the ball from Onana and pinging it everywhere for his speedy teammates to chase.
United finished the game with a pretty much kamikaze lineup where Antony was playing as a left-back, Harry Maguire was further forward, Dalot was everywhere, and Bruno dictating it all from deep.
Instead of calling for a substitution and taking a well-deserved breather since he’s been the one ever-present player for United this season, Fernandes put himself in an even riskier position.
Liverpool attacked with the speed and ferocity of Darwin Nunez and Co. but Fernandes risked it all to stay on the pitch and help United maintain possession.
By the end, it was impossible not to see shades of Roy Keane’s maverick display vs Juventus once he knew he would miss the final.
Keane ran like a man possessed that day, someone who would not take a loss when the final whistle blew.
Fernandes doesn’t have the team around him that Keane did but he nonetheless went the extra mile and beyond on a day when United needed their captain.
When the final whistle blew, a roar could be heard around Old Trafford as they knew they had witnessed something special.
For Fernandes, it would just be a sigh of relief. He had sacrificed his body for the team like all great captains do, and his team had delivered when it mattered.
United’s season is not dead yet because Fernandes would rise from the dead to keep it alive.
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