Bright spark Bruno Fernandes let down by team mates in limp West Ham draw | OneFootball

Manchester United reverted to type and let a lead slip at home to bottom-half opposition against West Ham United.

After Diogo Dalot handed the hosts the lead, intensity once again waned and the Hammers grabbed an equaliser to take the air out of United’s sails with a 1-1 draw.

Flat performance but not from Fernandes

There is no getting away from the fact that the match was another shocker from the Red Devils, and for large swathes of the game they looked off the pace.

But as has so often been the case, Bruno Fernandes tried absolutely everything to save the team he captains and made some valuable contributions which on another day could have helped produce a positive result.

The Portuguese made a match-leading five key passes and took a huge 102 touches at the beating heart of the team – nobody else took more than 74.

He completed 82% of his attempted passes, finding his man with 60 of his attempted 70, bested only by Noussair Mazraoui.

That said, he also lost possession 22 times, the joint-highest figure of anyone on the pitch as an industrious West Ham hounded the men in red.

Although playing in his deeper role he peppered the goal, hitting the post once and missing one big chance. He got one shot on target, put two wide and had three blocked.

Defensive duties done

Fernandes dug in defensively, too, and was a crucial part in breaking up the play as West Ham surged into the game.

Nobody on either team made more than the 31-year-old’s four tackles, and he wasn’t dribbled past once.

On top of this he made three clearances, and his total of seven defensive contributions was bested only by Mazraoui and Casemiro on eight.

He was game in the duel, too, winning four of seven on the ground and two of three in the air.

It was a desperately poor result, due in no small part to United’s lack of intensity, but it’s fair to say that Fernandes could hardly have done more to inspire his team to a better result.

Stats taken from sofascore.

Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images

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