Porto coach raves about ‘quality’ Bruno Fernandes explains why the Manchester United captain will be motivated

United were beaten 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, just days after a poor start to the Europa League.

United failed to beat FC Twente at Old Trafford and only managed a 1-1 draw against the Eredivisie side.

Erik ten Hag needs a result at Porto now, both to boost United’s Europa League campaign and to ease the pressure on his own job.

Porto boss on Bruno Fernandes

It won’t be an easy game for United.

Porto have won six of their first seven league games this season, conceding just three goals.

However, defeat at Bodo/Glimt last week means Porto will have to get their own Europa League campaign underway.

A big home game could be the perfect opportunity and Porto boss Vitor Bruno has picked a United player to keep an eye on.

Vitor Bruno has recently been promoted from Sergio Conceicao’s assistant to Porto coach.

Speaking to Record, Vitor Bruno praised United playmaker Bruno Fernandes when asked why he is so often criticized.

Vitor Bruno believes Fernandes was harshly sent off against Tottenham on Sunday and believes the playmaker will now want to deliver a “great performance” against Porto.

Fernandes is also a former Sporting player and Vitor Bruno believes this will give the midfielder even more motivation to shine against Porto.

The Porto boss added that his players simply cannot allow Fernandes to have space in midfield, explaining that he needs to be controlled if Porto want to get a positive result.

“He is an international player, he is always a quality player,” said Vitor Bruno.

“He was also a Sporting player so I’m sure he wants to put in a great performance tomorrow. The way he was sent off in the last game was, in my opinion, unacceptable. He is a very, very good player. We have to try to control him, not let him play the way he wants and always be ready to limit his style of play. We cannot give him space,” he added.

Bruno Fernandes record against Porto

Fernandes has played against Porto ten times in his career; The only clubs he has played against more often are Manchester City, West Ham United, Everton and Brighton and Hove Albion.

Fernandes won four of those 10 games, drew twice and lost four during his time at Sporting.

The strange thing is that Fernandes has never scored against Porto.

The United captain’s record says he failed to score or assist in 10 attempts against Porto – something he is keen to change on Thursday night.

However, Fernandes was instrumental in a goal against Porto in 2019 when his miss was deflected into the net and resulted in an own goal as Sporting beat Porto to win the Taca de Portugal in 2019.

Fernandes became a United player less than a year later and would no doubt be keen to finally get started against Porto tonight.

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