Manchester United legend Phil Neville has compared Bruno Fernandes to Wayne Rooney and Eric Cantona – but insisted he has a trump card over them due to the fact he is in a worse team. It comes after the attacking midfielder put on a fine display in the 3-1 win over Everton. The Portugal international grabbed two goals and turned the game on its head.
Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes has been compared to Wayne Rooney and Eric Cantona.
That is the verdict from Phil Neville, who also went on to state that the midfielder had to say that his impact could be better due to the fact he is in a worse team.
Fernandes was in fine form yet again for the Red Devils on Saturday – at a critical time for his manager.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come under immense pressure this week after losses to Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir.
And when Everton went a goal up in the first-half, the Norwegian could be forgiven for wanting to leave Goodison Park early.
But his side responded brilliantly, namely Fernandes who scored twice to put United into the lead – where they never looked back.
Edinson Cavani then scored in injury-time to add gloss to the victory that was well-deserved in the end for the visitors.
And it was Fernandes who took the game by the scruff of the neck and hauled his club back into the mix.
The Portugal international has been a major factor in United’s success this calendar year after joining in January and almost single-handedly taking them into a Champions League spot.
He has carried his form over and has five goals and three assists in seven Premier League matches this campaign.
And Neville was in awe of the former Sporting Lisbon star.
“Special player,” he told Premier League Productions. “Since he joined the club I don’t think he’s had a dip yet.
“You thought after that first initial goals, assists and impact that he made, you thought ‘Where’s that dip coming? Can he do it in the second season?’. He’s doing it even better.
“When he speaks, he speaks like a Manchester United player, he speaks like a Manchester United captain, he speaks like a leader, he speaks like someone who wants to win. I think he’s a special player.
“You’ve seen players that have come to Manchester United over the last probably 10, 15 years, I don’t think anyone has had as big an impact in such a short space of time as him.
“Maybe Rooney, maybe Cantona, those types of names, I think he’s had a similar impact to.
“His stats, his goals, his assists, his performances. Rooney came in and scored a hat-trick in his first game, Cantona comes in, puts his collar up and says ‘I’m a Manchester United player’.
“That type of impact he’s had, even in a team that probably isn’t as good as that team that Rooney and Cantona played in.”