Neville: Carrick faces impossible task in succeeding at MUFC if he’s without player who brings ‘guts’ & ‘courage’

Gary Neville emphasised just how integral Bruno Fernandes is to Michael Carrick following Manchester United’s 5-2 win over Ipswich Town.

The skipper was responsible for three goals directly after netting a hat-trick, while he also registered one assist to kickstart his tally for the term.

How did Fernandes fare vs Ipswich?

Unsurprisingly, Fernandes claimed the Premier League’s Player of the Match award, and he was also Fotmob’s highest-rated player on the pitch with a score of 9.8.

Aside from his four goal contributions, the talisman recorded a whopping 17 line-breaking passes, nine passes into the final third, six accurate long balls, four accurate crosses and five touches in the opposition’s box.

He also did his bit defensively, registering five recoveries, two tackles and a block.

To say the 31-year-old is on the back of a history-making campaign, which saw him set an entirely new Premier League assist record of 21 in a single season, he is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

What Neville had to say about Fernandes

Neville was quick to single out how influential Fernandes has been and continues to be for United, too, as he said on Sky Sports at full-time on Sunday evening: “Fernandes… the best signing by a mile post-Sir Alex Ferguson.

“He’s got the guts, he’s got the courage, [and] he’s got the belief to play for United. The numbers that he’s delivered – assists and goals – his eagerness and willingness to always want to impact the game positively – to play the killer pass, to score a goal, to do the most difficult thing.

“He’s an outstanding player. He really is. Without him, United would have a real problem. But they’ve got him.

“With the other forwards around, [Marcus] Rashford, [Bryan] Mbeumo, [Matheus] Cunha, Amad [Diallo], [Benjamin] Sesko, [Patrick] Dorgu [and Mason] Mount, they have got an excellent group of forwards who will score a lot of goals and create a lot of damage.

“They’ve got a lot of directness in there. I wouldn’t like to play against some of those players.“