Bruno Fernandes hails “confident” teammate for magical moment that left Athletic Club shellshocked | OneFootball

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has lauded Harry Maguire for a dazzling moment of brilliance that even left Athletic Club surprised.

United clinched a crucial 3-0 victory over the Basque side in a charged atmosphere at San Mamés. Ruben Amorim’s now have one foot in the Europa League final, ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford next week.

United took the lead when Casemiro headed in after a fantastic piece of wing play from Maguire, who demonstrated incredible footwork before delivering a superb ball that was re-directed by Manuel Ugarte into the path of Casemiro, who was lurking at the far post.

Things got even better for United when Fernandes doubled their advantage from the penalty spot. Dani Vivian was sent off for conceding the penalty and sensing blood, the Red Devils added a third before half-time, once again through Fernandes, who finished a fine attacking move in emphatic fashion.

The match had plenty of standout moments, but one that truly caught the attention of United fans was Maguire’s slick footwork in the build-up to the opening goal. Maguire described the moment as “a nice feeling,” reflecting his satisfaction with the role he played.

Fernandes spoke to TNT Sports and had his say on it.

The United skipper remarked, “I said straightaway, ‘what a winger!’ I don’t think that even he thought he had that in his locker. No one was expecting that. I think even the opposition was not expecting that to come.”

“Obviously we’re very happy. Harry is a much more confident man now. Things are coming through and when he’s playing and getting to games, he’s also getting goals and defending very well.”

“His positioning is becoming more and more strong. He’s very good leader and it’s a good thing for him. We hope that he keeps improving because at this club you need to keep improving all the time. You can’t just stop.”

On the game, Fernandes said, “You can never predict a scoreline like that. Very tough team, the atmosphere was crazy. I knew they were very passionate, but never knew it was like this.”

“The result for us was unbelievable. We should push a bit more in that second half, but we controlled the game and that is good.”

“For us, it was brilliant to stay on the ball and they won’t press as they preferred. If they press we could play through them. We were a little slow on the ball, but they wanted to keep the result like this to try come back in the next game.”

On his goal involvements, he explained, “I knew I was around the thirties, but I didn’t know how much exactly.”

“I want to score, I want to assist because it’s a big part of my game. I need to take that responsibility because I know since I came to the club, and even before [that] the club bought me because I scored 32 goals in one season. They knew that I could create, I could score and I just need to keep delivering because if you want to be at the highest level, you need to be consistent.

He continued, “I feel the pressure with every penalty. I think that’s the good thing of football and what we have to enjoy because when I finish my career that pressure will go away and I’ll be much more relaxed!”

Fernandes joked, “When I die I’ll have a lot of time to lie down and rest myself.”

United are back in action on Sunday when they face Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. Kick-off is at 14:00 BST.

Featured image Clive Brunskill via Getty Images

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