Bruno Fernandes’ 21st assist of the Premier League season for Patrick Dorg’s header against Brighton was controversial, but Manchester United still win the award
Bruno Fernandes was presented with the trophy on Sunday (Image: X/@PremierLeague)
Bruno Fernandes has been awarded a trophy by the Premier League for breaking the record for assists in a single season. Fernandes scored 21 goals in Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Brighton on Sunday, surpassing Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne’s 20 goals.
Patrick Dorg headed United’s captain’s corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Goals from Brian Mbeumo and Fernandes himself secured the three points as Michael Carrick’s side ended the season on a high note.
Fernandes’ final assist was allowed to remain in place by the Premier League, despite suggestions on social media that it should have been chalked away. A fan posted a slow-motion replay of Dorg’s goal, showing the ball hitting the bar and going over Brighton goalkeeper Bert Verbruggen’s line, meaning it could have been an own goal.
In the Premier League, goal attributes are sometimes changed retroactively, but in this case nothing has been changed, leaving Dorg’s goal and, more importantly, Fernandes’ assist intact.
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The United captain’s achievements were praised after the match and the Premier League released a video on Monday showing him being handed the trophy. “Oh, this is a nice trophy,” he can be heard saying before posing for a photo.
In a statement on its website, United said: “Congratulations to Bruno for making history once again. We couldn’t be more proud of your contribution – Skip!”
The trophy is the culmination of a fantastic individual campaign for Fernandes, who was also named Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year. The 31-year-old made 37 appearances in all competitions for United, scoring nine goals and providing 22 assists as they finished third in the Premier League.
Bruno Fernandes has provided 21 assists in the Premier League this season (Image: Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Asked in a recent interview with Mirror Football what it meant to him to win the FWA award alongside United legends Wayne Rooney, George Best, Sir Bobby Charlton and Cristiano Ronaldo, he said:
“But winning this award and being with them is very important to me and I’m not going to hide it. It’s always been an award for me. That’s always been my goal. I’ve never hidden it. Like I said before, I’m not very good at hiding things!”
“I always say what I want to achieve. What I want to achieve is to win the league and win the Champions League.”
Fernandes has just 12 months left on his current contract, but Carrick is confident he will stay on. “There’s no reason to think otherwise,” he said Sunday.
“We love what he’s done so far and he loves being here. You can see that. He wanted to stay (on the pitch). He wants to stay in every game because he enjoys his football. That’s great.”
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