Fernandes and Pogba click as Manchester United chase Champions League berth

Brighton, July 1

Bruno Fernandes has made a telling impact on Manchester United since he joined from Sporting Lisbon in January and his link-up play with Paul Pogba in midfield had them firing on all cylinders against Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday.

The Portugal playmaker’s crisp one-touch passing and eye for goal seem to have transformed United’s engine room, where Pogba had often flattered to deceive.

It seems the France international and 2018 World Cup winner has finally found a midfield partner who can bring the best out of him in Fernandes, who took his overall tally to six goals in 13 games with a fine brace against Brighton in the Premier League.

Fernandes believes United can squeeze into the league’s top four, with fourth-placed Chelsea two points ahead of them with a game in hand, and was quick to credit his team mates for flourishing under Solskjaer.

“We are fighting for a place in the Champions League and we know we can achieve this,” Fernandes told Sky Sports.

“I don’t want to talk too much about me and Paul Pogba, we are happy to play together but I am happy to play with everyone. We can combine together, we have qualities, but we know that we have team mates who can do well.”

“We knew that we needed to push forward and to try and score from minute one. I was lucky with the first goal and the second goal was amazing, an amazing pass from Mason.”

With Pogba bossing the centre of midfield, 18-year-old Mason Greenwood impressed again with a mature performance, having opened the scoring with a solo effort before he fed Fernandez with a delightful cross for United’s third goal.

Solskjaer also singled out Greenwood, who appears to be cementing a place in the starting lineup alongside Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial up front.

“He’s got a knack of that, he can go inside or outside, he is developing into a fine player,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports.

“We know we have pace and we want to counter quickly, it was a fantastic goal (the third goal), we are very happy with it.” — Reuters