Following Liverpool’s 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United, United was in a state of shock. It started a kind of investigation into the Red Devils, who had just had such a tremendous season.

Erik ten Hag, however, was not made aware of the delicate underbelly that the English giants had still to lose from that performance.

After a subsequent draw with Southampton and a crushing defeat to Newcastle United, their Premier League campaign appeared to be in jeopardy as it appeared their hold on the top four would loosen. Bruno Fernandes served as a focal point for the derogatory remarks directed at the members of the squad in the media.

During the aforementioned Anfield thrashing, Gary Neville even declared on commentary for Sky Sports: “The second half has been an absolute disaster, a shambles. No one better exemplifies this than the captain Bruno Fernandes, who I believe has occasionally been humiliating in this game.

However, if he is to blame for their bad performance, then the 28-year-old unquestionably merits plaudits when they improve.

Such a change in fortunes was only made worse yesterday when his team won their third straight league game thanks in large part to his heroics.

Bruno Fernandes’ performance versus Nottingham Forest.

The Portugal international has developed into a much more unselfish player for this club this season after being forced into a role that has diminished his personal effect. This is best seen by his five goals and six assists this season, which pale in comparison to his ten goals and 18 assists from the year before.

He does, however, bring a level of creativity from the depths and a work rate rarely seen in players of his caliber in the engine room.

At the City Ground, during their 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, he displayed this to perfection.

The former Sporting CP star had the highest rating of all players during his whole 90 minutes of play, which was supported by his willingness to move the team forward. Due to the absence of important players due to injuries, their number eight stepped up to record 96 touches, six crucial passes, and two significant chances created, according to Sofascore.

He put in a lot of effort, but he didn’t actually contribute to any goals, frequently falling victim to his own teammates’ carelessness and some Keylor Navas brilliance as well.

Displays like yesterday’s stand out as truly mesmeric and devoid of such a statistic to validate a successful performance. Prior to yesterday, the team went through a five-game stretch without recording a goal or an assist, a streak that has now increased to six.

Even the journalist Lucas Filus claimed on Twitter that Fernandes was going through “his most exciting phase since joining United.”

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This is quite high praise given the form he displayed in that first full season following his £47m transfer.

The midfield general has regained his status as one of the pivotal players in this unrelenting United team after experiencing a brief slump after the Anfield horror. The prospect of playing Champions League football is suddenly very real at Old Trafford.