Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes was in action as Portugal kicked off their World Cup campaign in Qatar against Ghana.
Alongside Diogo Dalot and, at the time, United striker Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernandes was called up by Fernando Santos and the Portugal manager started the game in his first game of the tournament.
Fernandes played in his preferred role of number 10, but often switched with Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Atlético Madrid’s Joao Félix.
The United man was crucial in Portugal’s 3-2 win against the Black Stars.
Fernandes, in what was a masterclass creative performance from him, recorded two assists. One was for Joao Félix’s goal and the other for Rafael Leao who came on as a substitute.
The 28-year-old had 66 touches to his name.
Fernandes was excellent with his passes, successfully completing 48 of the 51 passes he attempted, with an impressive 94% success rate.
In the win against Ghana, Fernandes made three key passes.
He also successfully pinged five of the six long balls he attempted to send to his teammates, a mark of his remarkable technical ability on the ball and passing range.
Fernandes created two great chances and made a simple cross.
The player was also superb defensively and had to be as Ghana looked threatening and dangerous at certain points in the game, especially towards the end.
He won four of his eight ground duels and 100% of his battles in the air.
Fernandes also made a crucial clearance. Certainly United fans will be pleased that their magnifico is performing well on football’s biggest stage.
Statistics: sofascore.com
