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The Portuguese international has been a strong personality for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team and one of his key skills are penalty shootouts
Bruno Fernandes settled comfortably in life a Manchester United since joining from Sporting in 2020 and the director has endeared Red Devils fans with his exploits.
The Portuguese international has taken on many responsibilities at Old Trafford in his short time at the club, with set pieces and penalties now undoubtedly within his remit.
Marcus Rashford had been United’s go-to man for penalties, but Fernandes’ impressive 12-yard record saw him take over from the English star.
Indeed, despite suggesting that he would happily allow Rashford or others like Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba to step up on penalties, Fernandes remains Man Utd’s first-choice penalty taker.
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He has beaten the likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Pepe Reina and Hugo Lloris from the spot, so Bruno Fernandes has a secret that helps him win the battle of wits?
What is the secret of Bruno Fernandes’ rigor?
Well, according to the player himself, there is no great formula or magic trick for his success in the penalty. However, if there is a secret, it is preparation and practice, a lot.
Interestingly, while some players try to hone their technique, both in terms of running up and hitting the ball, Fernandes lets the situation determine how he hits a penalty.
“I have no secrets,” he explained in an interview with UEFA.com.
“I think I train a lot, I like training a lot. I always pay attention to what goalkeepers do: how they position themselves, how they best prevent shots on goal.
“Based on that, based on the match and how I feel on the pitch, I decide how to take a penalty.
He added: “I don’t have a specific technique to take penalties. There is no certain run-up I take, I just limit what I feel most comfortable with.
“If I change it every now and then, it could make the goalkeeper uncertain. I change my run-up to how I feel during the game, or how I feel the goalkeeper [will move]. “
Penalty record by Bruno Fernandes
What kind of record does Fernandes have then? To put it mildly, his record is pretty good.
In 2019-20, he scored eight out of eight penalties for Manchester United in all competitions, including a decisive goal in the Europa League quarter-finals against Copenhagen in extra time.
Before that, in two and a half seasons as a Sporting player, he took 17 penalties and only missed one.
Jose Mourinho said his compatriot was among the best penalty shooters in the world when he joked about the number of penalties that had been awarded to Manchester United in 2019-20.
She said Disk: “Bruno came in, he was in good shape, he played very well, he improved the United team and he also proved to be a great penalty taker, one of the best in the world, because he had about 20 to score”.
However, while Fernandes is clearly adept at beating goalkeepers from the spot, he is not perfect and suffered his first defect at Man Utd in October 2020 when Newcastle United’s Karl Darlow denied him.
It was his eleventh penalty for the Red Devils and his first mistake.
“I’m human! I’m human! It happens,” Fernandes said MUTV after the failure against the Magpies. “I don’t want it to happen again. I didn’t want it to happen [against Darlow] but the goalkeeper did well.
“I didn’t do the right things. I studied the goalkeeper but I didn’t shoot the ball as I wanted but the goalkeeper deserves the credit.
“He saves the penalty, he deserves the credit, but I had to do much better with the penalty for sure – and I will do the next one.”
First drama in the Champions League this season!
Bruno Fernandes misses the penalty for United … But the VAR ina orders a repeat
United’s substitute captain makes no mistake the second time around 👌 pic.twitter.com/vmPVjGc162
– Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) 20 October 2020
When his next penalty came a week later, against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, he missed again, with Keylor Navas denying it.
Or so the Costa Rican shooter thought.
Luckily for Fernandes, the VAR noticed an infringement by Navas – he was completely out of his line before the ball was hit – and the referee ordered it to be taken back.
Fernandes makes no mistake on the second attempt, using the same run-up and going for the same corner.
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