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Manchester United created numerous chances but failed to make them count, eventually suffering their fourth defeat of the Premier League season, this time to West Ham on Sunday.
Alejandro Garnacho spurned a couple of glorious chances while Diogo Dalot’s miss will be replayed for years to come and eventually, the visitors allowed the Hammers into the contest.
And they made it count, scoring through Crysencio Summerville and a late Jarrod Bowen penalty after a controversial refereeing call.
United are languishing in 14th place, only seven points off the drop zone and it is surprising to see INEOS not pulling the plug on Erik ten Hag despite the disastrous start to the season.
Bruno’s presence sparked the attack
After the disappointing attacking display against Fenerbahce in midweek, the Red Devils were much brighter at the London Stadium, mostly due to Bruno Fernandes’ return to the team.
His exemplary pressing, exquisite vision and range of passing was on full display, as he sent quite a few through balls to Alejandro Garnacho who managed to fluff his lines consistently.
The Portuguese international had 96 touches of the ball and completed three key passes while also creating two big chances, both of which were missed by his teammates.
His goal drought also continued with the club captain missing one big chance himself. He had three shots blocked while a couple were off target.
Bruno needs to start firing
But he never gave up, completing seven long passes out of 10 attempts while winning three fouls for his team. And he, as usual, helped out defensively, winning five ground duels while making two clearances (all stats via sofascore).
There were audible groans at the end as the 30-year-old displayed his wasteful nature towards the end, as he mishit a cross while attempting a long-ranger during the dying moments of the game instead of trying to deliver inside the box.
Despite a few blemishes, Fernandes ran the attacking show for his team and his teammates and manager need him to start firing or else this campaign could end worse than the previous one.
But things are just not happening for him and his team, with the Red Devils topping the charts for big chances wasted. The pressure is clearly getting to the players and most of it is because of the poor record under the manager.
Feature image Eddie Keogh via Getty Images