Bruno Fernandes’ role reverses as he starts World Cup as star turn

Bruno Fernandes entered Euro 2020 after the season of his life and exited it with no goals and no assists. He had a solitary shot on target, created far fewer chances than usual and only started two games. It came after a season when he had delivered 28 goals and 17 assists for Manchester United.

There were, it seemed, two Fernandeses, the United talisman, the Portugal bit-part man. His club played with a No 10 and built their side around him. His country deemed the position redundant and selected a team around Cristiano Ronaldo.

Some 18 months on, Fernandes is wearily familiar with the narrative that he delivers less when he is teamed with Ronaldo. Belatedly, in the week after his compatriot’s explosive departure from Old Trafford, is rebuffing it. Two games into the World Cup and Fernandes ranks joint top for assists and behind only Enner Valencia and Kylian Mbappe for goals. He has been directly involved in four of Portugal’s goals, Ronaldo the other one.

A brace against Uruguay may have come with an asterisk or two attached. Fernandes’ first goal was definitely a cross; in all probability, Ronaldo did not touch it as he tried to head in. Yet his captain’s status is such that Fernando Santos declined to answer whose goal he thought it was; rather that than alienate Ronaldo. Conscious of the dynamics, Fernandes took the diplomatic approach. “I celebrated as if it had been Cristiano's goal,” he said. “It seemed to me that he had touched the ball. My aim was to cross the ball for him."

His second, meanwhile, definitely would have been Ronaldo’s but for an inconvenient detail: a man who hates being substituted when there are goals to get had been removed. Fernandes is statistically a better penalty taker than Ronaldo but, such is the chain of command with Portugal, that he can only assume spot-kick duty when the older man is off the field. He nonchalantly rolled it in.

It was the brace that almost wasn’t. It was the double that was nearly a hat-trick, Fernandes striking the post in the 99th minute. That he had also won the injury-time penalty pointed to his growing dominance. His eventual relentlessness, chasing a personal treble, felt Ronaldo-esque. The similarities may spread beyond a CV that features United and Portugal. A common denominator is a capacity to rack up ridiculous numbers, often in teams that cater to their needs.

Except that this Portugal team is not configured to Fernandes’ requirements. He is not the No 10, but a right-sided No 8 who sometimes swaps positions with Bernardo Silva on the flank. In a group including Joao Felix, Rafael Leao and Silva, he may not have arrived in Qatar with the pre-eminent status in the supporting cast.

Two games of a World Cup can be perception-shifting, however. If Fernandes was not fully trusted by Santos in Euro 2020 and Leao, deployed as an impact substitute, may not be now, the 28-year-old feels fundamental at the moment.

Ronaldo was the headline act against Ghana, scoring for the fifth successive World Cup. In his own way, Fernandes was the match-winner, two assists in three minutes coming from defence-splitting passes for Felix and Leao. He has a persona as the man who makes things happen and, as Portugal lack the slickness of Spain, they are more reliant on moments, on individuals, on difference-makers.

That has long been Fernandes’ preference anyway. If Ronaldo subscribes to the ‘great man theory’ of history – and sees himself as the greatest – Fernandes operates on the principle that people alter events, not systems. He would always eschew tiki-taka if there is an opportunity to play the killer pass or attempt a shot.

But for much of his international career, he looked diminished in a Portugal shirt, a footballer who likes to take lots of shots in a game in a side constructed according to the wishes of another who likes to take even more, a set-piece specialist denied penalties or free kicks within shooting range, the imperfect 10 for a team who had a magnificent No 7.

Maybe there has been a role reversal more recently: as his goals have become rarer for United, they have become more frequent for Portugal. Since Euro 2020, he has struck 13 times in 66 games for United and even if there are hints of a renaissance under Erik ten Hag, it has not been reflected in the statistics. He has more assists in the World Cup than the Premier League this season. He began 2022 with six goals in 40 caps; since then, he has seven in 11.

He was a curiosity, a modern-day Eric Cantona, adored at Old Trafford while, for different reasons, scarcely a factor in international football. He may have looked destined to be a better player for club than country. Carry on like this and Bruno Fernandes may be a more productive footballer for Portugal than United.