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Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund has publicly defended his under-fire captain, Bruno Fernandes.
The Portuguese star is a fan-favourite and with good reason. He is the club’s top goal scorer this season with 15 goals and he has also added 11 assists to his name.
As usual, he is by far the club’s most potent attacking weapon. However, his statistics are not just impressive in a United context as he became the first Premier League player this season to create 100 chances.
The Portugal international is largely at the heart of everything Manchester United do well which can be seen by the absolutely insane statistics highlighted below as he leads the club in numerous categories.
Bruno Fernandes for Man Utd in the Premier League this season:
◉ Most G/A
◉ Most goals
◉ Most assists
◉ Most shots
◉ Most shots on target
◉ Most chances created
◉ Most high turnovers
◉ Most possession won
◉ Most possession won final ⅓
◉ Most possession won middle ⅓… pic.twitter.com/WA1CXgJ6yv— Squawka (@Squawka) April 29, 2024
Despite this, Fernandes is often criticised by people outside of Old Trafford and pundits have regularly stated that he is not captain material, even legends of the club like Bryan Robson and Roy Keane have expressed their disapproval of his captaincy.
Hojlund himself has not always seen eye to eye with his skipper this season as it was relayed here that he reportedly complained to Erik Ten Hag and his coaching staff that Fernandes was not passing to him enough.
However, things seem to be much rosier now between the two and Hojlund was glowing in his praise for the talismanic star.
Speaking to BBC Sport’s Football Focus the striker took the chance to thank Fernandes for the assist last Wednesday that saw the Dane break his goal-scoring drought and find the net for the first time since February against Sheffield United.
Fernandes was sensational in the game, scoring a brace and creating Hojlund’s goal. In response to his performance, the 21-year-old stated, “I just want to tell him: ‘Thanks for the ball, Bruno!’”
“I was very happy for him because he’s also getting a lot of criticism.
“It’s not fair because he’s doing everything at a top level all the time and he’s an amazing captain.”
The former Atalanta striker was also asked about scoring the winning penalty in the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City that booked United’s place in the showpiece event on Saturday 25th May at Wembley.
“I knew what I wanted to do with my penalty. A little bit nervous of course. I was quite composed and yeah, boom, goal.”
Looking forward to the titanic task of avenging last season’s defeat to the same rivals, Manchester City, Hojlund asserted, “We have a chance to win the cup. It’s my first chance to win silverware.
“For me, this is a big game and I think we have a good chance to do something special now for the rest of the season.”
Hojlund will be aiming to continue to forge a blossoming partnership with Fernandes and draw level with the Portuguese on 15 goals when United travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on Monday night.
