BRUNO FERNANDES was meant to be the man to inspire Portugal to a second straight European Championship victory.
In a squad boasting the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Joao Felix, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Renato Sanches, the 2016 champions were rightly among the favourites for the crown.
While 36-year-old Ronaldo is still the main man for Portugal for now, Fernandes is the undoubted heir to the throne.
After a spectacular year-and-a-half at Manchester United following his £50million move from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020, it’s easy to see why such big things were expected from the attacking midfielder this summer.
Last season alone, Fernandes was involved in a staggering 46 goals – scoring 28 and adding a further 18 assists – in all competitions.
But in four games at Euro 2020, the Old Trafford ace, 26, managed zero goals, zero assists and only played an average of 51.5 minutes per game.
Ultimately, Portugal crashed out at the last-16 stage, albeit to the No1 ranked team in the world, Belgium.
But to be blunt, Fernandes was utterly anonymous at the tournament.
Fernandes started the first two group games against Hungary and Germany – but was hauled off in both.
While the United star hardly lit up the stage in the late 3-0 win over Hungary, he was utterly dreadful against Germany.
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Fernandes was hauled off after just after the hour-mark in the 4-2 defeat against the Germans and was dropped for the 2-2 draw with France and ultimate KO against Belgium.
The attacking midfielder made it off the bench in both games, but failed to replicate his club form.
When all was said and done, Fernandes played just 206 out of a possible 360 minutes at the Euros.
Before the tournament, that would have seemed unthinkable for a player who starred in 4,581 minutes for his club last season at an average of 79 minutes per game.
At Euro 2020, Fernandes’ shots per game rate slipped to below HALF his 2020-21 club tally of 3.5.
His passing – while more accurate – was down too, at 37 per 90 minutes, compared to 60 for United.
Fernandes completed ZERO dribbles all tournament, with his tackling and chances created records down.
The Man Utd No18 was hampered somewhat by Ronaldo’s place in the team.
After all, Fernandes takes penalties and free-kicks for United, but didn’t get a sniff for Portugal this summer.
But that fact combined with his anonymous showing at Euro 2020 will do little to dissuade those who believe Fernandes to be a set-piece specialist.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
