The 28-year-old scored three goals and registered one assist for the Reds last month, as we progressed in both the Emirates FA Cup and the Europa League.
Fernandes, who according to our research has played more games this season than anyone else in world football, continued his run of United starts in March – he has now been named in 19 consecutive XIs by Erik ten Hag since missing January’s win over Charlton Athletic through suspension.
Bruno is clearly seen by the boss as one of the first names on the teamsheet and his importance to United’s side was underlined by him taking the largest share of the vote he contested with fellow fan-favourites Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford.
It was very close though, with Bruno beating Rashford to what would have been a fourth straight prize by just a small number of nominations, polling 40 per cent, one more than our leading scorer, with Martinez on 21 per cent.
It’s the seventh time Fernandes has claimed this particular award since arriving from Sporting in January 2020.
He’s the sixth different Red to win this season and breaks Rashford’s recent stranglehold on the trophy.
Of course, our Portuguese magnifico was also named Player of the Year in his first two seasons at the club.
Two of Bruno’s March strikes arrived in the final fixture before the international break, as we came from a goal down to beat Fulham 3-1 and book our place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
He was also pivotal in the 4-1 Old Trafford win over Real Betis, laying on an assist for Antony’s spectacular curler before heading home himself and he deservedly won the Man of the Match award after both those games.
Congratulations to you, Bruno!
PRAISE FOR BRUNO IN MARCH
Erik ten Hag: “He’s very strong; he’s very good at recovery first, so he is a really good athlete. He has so much energy, he can play in so many roles, for tactics [it is] brilliant for the team that he can play [these] roles. We can play him there [midfield] where we can benefit from him to overload areas, where he can outplay opponents, so we get in good situations and so we will create chances. He is also very important in the counter-press and in the pressing; so his transition is a really fantastic skill for him.”
Marcus Rashford: “I love playing with Bruno, as you can imagine. For a forward like me, he’s the perfect player to play with. I think he’s been a good leader for us, even when he’s not been captain, which is always a good sign. He’s helped other players become better leaders. The reality of it is, we can’t be a well organised team with just one leader being the captain. He has done a lot for us in terms of bringing leadership skills in and that was from the moment he arrived.”
POTM WINNERS 2022/23
August: Lisandro Martinez
September: Christian Eriksen
October: Casemiro
November: Alejandro Garnacho
December: Marcus Rashford
January: Marcus Rashford
February: Marcus Rashford
March: Bruno Fernandes
Source: manutd.com
