Even by the usual level of animosity directed towards Bruno Fernandes at away grounds around the country, this was brutal in the extreme.
‘Bruno is a ****,’ echoed the chant around Elland Road as the Leeds fans spewed their bile towards the Manchester United captain, enraged by an ugly lunging tackle on Tarik Muharemovic that earned Fernandes an early yellow card and had the natives baying for red.
It is to his credit that he led from the front for the remaining 73 minutes without giving them any more opportunities to implore referee Darren England to send him off in a full-blooded fixture that doesn’t allow players to hold anything back.
Fernandes is used to it by now. He rarely takes the bait from rival supporters, preferring to answer his critics by hitting their team where it hurts.
You would have bet on the Bruno of old having the final word at Elland Road. But he didn’t, just as he has failed to have a meaningful impact in most of United’s 10 games so far this season.
His four goals and one assist have come in his team’s only two wins, against Ipswich Town and Sabah at Old Trafford, two of the easier fixtures it has to be said.
Otherwise the superpowers that earned the Portugal star the PFA and FWA Player of the Year awards with nine goals and a Premier League record 21 assists have largely deserted him.
It was a familiar story on Sunday as Fernandes reached into his box of tricks and came up empty-handed yet again.
He is not good at hiding his emotions at the best of times, and we were treated to the full repertoire of arm-throwing and grumbling (mainly at Diogo Dalot) as he searched in vain for inspiration.
Afterwards, it was put to Michael Carrick that Fernandes’ body language wasn’t the best. ‘No, he was absolutely fine today, don't worry,’ smiled United’s head coach, accustomed by now to answering questions specifically about his captain in most press conferences.
Fernandes might be fine, but the fact that Carrick has felt the need to move him out of the No.10 position he has made his own tells its own story.
Against Atletico Madrid in midweek, he played wide on the right, allowing Youri Tielemans to push forward from midfield and play No.10. The Belgian performed well enough to stay there against Leeds, and set up the opening goal for Bryan Mbeumo while Fernandes started side left and inter-changed with Mbeumo at centre-forward.
‘Today, he pretty much played where he has been playing for the most part, through the middle of the pitch, so there wasn't really too much change,’ added Carrick.
‘He played a slightly different position in midweek, but apart from that it's pretty much as usual, you know. And he's an important part of our team, Bruno. He has been for us for some time, and that's not changing.’
Maybe not but, on this evidence, Tielemans deserves to continue against Como in the Champions League on Wednesday. Matheus Cunha is another who can play at No.10 but has had to work around Fernandes.
Until now, that has been beyond question. His stats spoke for themselves. But Carrick was asked in Madrid if Fernandes is undroppable and the noise around him is only going to grow louder.
After nearly seven years of being United’s main man is the time drawing near when he will have to pass on that mantle?
The Old Trafford hierarchy were certainly open to that idea when Al-Hilal came calling last year with the offer of a £100million transfer fee and untold riches for Fernandes himself.
The player decided to stay despite admitting that he was ‘hurt’ by the club’s willingness to let him go, and it paid off with an incredible season leading into last summer’s World Cup.
This year, Galatasaray tried their luck and were prepared to double Fernandes’ wages. Again, he stayed, showing admirable loyalty to a club who are no nearer winning the Premier League than when he walked through the door from Sporing Lisbon in January 2020.
It would be a shame if Fernandes’ time at Old Trafford yielded only a FA Cup and Carabao Cup, but that might well be as good as it gets.
The 32-year-old will be out of contract at the end of June, although United have the option to extend it by another 12 months. Talks over a new deal have started, but there is no sign of a breakthrough anytime soon. On current form, would United want to renew?
In a summer that saw United offload Casemiro but fail to find a buyer for Marcus Rashford, would it have been better to have moved their other big earner off the books, particularly with Tielemans coming in?
Time will tell. Fernandes’ track record tells you that the loss of form is only temporary and it won’t be long before he proves the doubters wrong. That Tielemans’ ownership of the No.10 spot is shortlived and Fernandes will soon be back pulling the strings like he always does.
The longer this goes on, though, the louder the questions will grow – and the more people will wonder if one of the few great United careers in the post-Ferguson era is drawing to a close.
Davichi
8
Who would fans of the opponent attack if not the best player of the team? The only surprising aspect is that people who ought to be connected to United are joining as well. Yes Bruno has not started with good performance for united this season, but is it a strange thing to happen to a footballer? Also, how many of his team mates have performed better? It shows there's a problem with the team. Meanwhile, these same people never acknowledged his impact when he was leading from the front last season.