Juan Mata admits his favourite player in world football right now is a Man United star | OneFootball

Tuesday night, Bruno Fernandes finally announced himself on the world stage.

Given the top form he had been operating in, a blank return—no goal, no assist—against DR Congo was a disappointment, despite him dropping a fine performance overall.

Against Uzbekistan, though, the Premier League Player of the Year and the Premier League assists record holder, with twenty-one assists in a single season, was a man on a mission. If he was not going to score, he was determined to be on the other end of assists.

As Portugal ran riot, hammering Uzbekistan 5-0, the United skipper made sure he left a mark on the game with an assist to his name. In fact, he could have had two assists in that game had a well-worked free-kick routine with Cristiano Ronaldo come off.

Portugal have so many stars, make no mistake, but you would tune in to their games just to watch Fernandes drop a masterclass.

Juan Mata completely blown away by Bruno Fernandes

In a world boasting exciting talents like Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé, even former United playmaker Juan Mata admits it is Fernandes whom he most enjoys watching right now, telling ITV Sport:

“My favourite player to watch now is Bruno Fernandes.”

Mata must have savoured that Uzbekistan performance. Fernandes rose to the occasion, creating chances for fun and controlling the entire game.

Eyes on the assists record

The record for most assists in a single FIFA World Cup stands at six, set by Brazil’s Pelé. Fernandes, with one, has five more to equal it.

It looks like a tall order, but consider that Fernandes did not register his first assist last season until gameweek eight, yet still went on to break the Premier League record.

With the United star firing on all cylinders, Pelé’s record is under serious threat.

Up next for Portugal is a final Group K clash against Colombia on Sunday morning.

Featured image Daniel Pockett via Getty Images

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