De Bruyne and Messi are considered two of the best "midfielders" in Europe at the moment.
The individual qualities they bring to their respective teams are second to none, as they lead their teams forward from midfield while constantly creating scoring opportunities for their team-mates.
However, they are not really the No. 10 players, de Bruyne as Manchester City's senior "No. 8" player; Messi usually moves on the right wing, where he can move inward and easily create chances, but playing in the "forward" position behind the striker limits his influence on the game.
Now, let's look at Bruno Fernandez, who took the "10" spot at Manchester United.
Let's turn the clock back to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 2019/20 season, when after Pogba was absent, United lost the "ability to shoot the ball", neither Jesse Lingard nor the sapper Fred had the ability to go straight and tear the defense apart.
As a result, the front and midfield, the front and backfield are widely disconnected, and only by relying on forwards such as Martial to withdraw from the midfield to get the ball, which also leads to the ball getting farther and farther away from the goal.
Bruno Fernandes, who was playing for Sporting Portugal at the time, caught the attention of Manchester United, who was characterized by being able to deliver a lot of threatening balls in one game, while also organising attacks and controlling the ball when pressed.
In January 2020, Manchester United introduced Bruno Fernandez with a fixed transfer fee of 55 million euros + 25 million euros floating terms, and his performance did not disappoint Manchester United, providing a lot of help to Manchester United.
After coming to Manchester United, the midfielder with good passing quickly replaced Pogba, who was slightly injured in the later period, and became the core of Manchester United's midfield.
On the offensive end of the frontcourt, it can provide key passes, threatening crosses, goals, and is a veritable offensive engine; On the defensive end of the backcourt, he greatly shared fred's pressure to pass the ball, making the latter more focused on the defensive end of the interception, steals, running undead attributes all applied to the defense, greatly improving United's midfield interception ability. Contributing 12 goals and 8 assists in half a season, it completely revitalized United's attack.
In the 2020-21 season, United's attacking midfielder ended with an outstanding performance, the Portuguese scored 18 goals and 12 assists in 37 league games, becoming the team's top scorer and assist. Helped Manchester United to a second place in the league, scoring eight goals in the Europa League, becoming the top scorer in the Europa League, while helping Manchester United reach the final of the Europa League.
At that time, Manchester United fans would affectionately call Bruno Fernandez "Big B Brother", and once let fans see the hope of Manchester United's revival, as the core of Manchester United's future team.
The 27-year-old midfielder is the starting point for every attack the team, so he's been given the freedom to do whatever he wants, but at the same time, it has led to him being seen as a high-stakes, high-reward type player.
But as time went on, his weaknesses in the team became more and more lacking in position, lack of key passes, and lack of reading of the game.
Last season's erratic Manchester United results and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's eclipse, Fernandez's performance on the pitch has become increasingly difficult to satisfy fans, and behind Fernandez's average of 2.8 key passes per game is his frequent loss of ball in every game.
He lacks confidence as a scorer and a creator, scoring just 10 goals and six assists in 36 league games, and of course, his teammates' lack of strength is also a factor, as he has delivered 22 threatening shots for his teammates, some of which should definitely be able to score.
Fernandez had previously struggled in the second half of the 2021/22 season under Ronnick as Bruno Fernandez took on some of the functions of pogba, and it was clear that his ability to fight was not as good as Pogba, his ability to hold the ball was not as good as Pogba's, he needed Rashford to pull back to advance, and he needed more close protection at the back.
These shortcomings have led to huge doubts about his "survival" on the ball-handling team, and as early as the beginning of the new season, there was a lot of discussion about whether he was suitable for the plans of the new coach Tenhag.
After the 4-0 defeat to Brentford, AbonLajo said of the Manchester United players: "Everyone pointed the criticism at Maguire, Ronaldo, Rashford, Sancho and other players... But in my opinion, Bruno Fernandez seems to be the worst teammate, he always complains to his teammates, that's what he's been doing all along, and I can't see anything positive in him. ”
In the two and a half seasons since joining Manchester United, B Fei has been arranged to play as an attacking forward in the 4-2-3-1 formation, and in the Era of Solskjaer, B Fei has given full play to his strong back-row offensive ability in this position, and has become the team leader in both goals and assists.
Consistently in the top three of United's top scorers list, he has scored more goals than he has assisted every season, so much so that B Fee is becoming more and more like a Manchester United striker who needs the ball to prove his existence.
Today, under Tenhag's Manchester United, the tactical system has begun to change, Sancho and Dalot began to produce chemical reactions on the ribs on the right side, Rashford and the left defender began to open up the width on the left side, manchester United's front field actually did not need B Fee to provide a double-edged sword-like pass, Tenghag gave B Fee a new role: running without the ball in tandem, receiving the ball from the backcourt to the front.
But Tenhag was wrong, and it was not suitable for B to hold the ball to advance, as it turned out, his ability to handle the ball in high-speed sports was very poor.
In the match against Brighton, there was an example of Fernandez's decision-making errors and poorly timed passes that led to the team's offensive failure.
Pictured here is Fernandez giving Eriksen a weak pass that forces the receiver to step back and slow down and wait for the ball instead of running forward with the ball.
A few seconds later, as shown in the image below, Eriksen slowed down to gain possession, but it also allowed three Brighton defenders to quickly return to put pressure on him, forcing him to take a very difficult shot from a limited angle.
Not only that, but Fernandez lost possession 21 times throughout the game, failed to create clear chances for his team and failed to hit the target in his only shot, and his attempts inside the box went far beyond the crossbar.
The two-game losing streak has not surprised loyal fans at Old Trafford, something they've grown accustomed to in recent years.
Former Portuguese sporting coach Carlos Cavallar previously said in 2020 that the 27-year-old midfielder is not a true "number ten" player.
He suggested to Sky Sports: "He shoots, assists, passes and free kicks. But he's not a no.10, he's a no.8. ”
In addition, Lonnick said something similar to Fernandez after his 3-1 victory over Brentford at the end of January 2022. The former interim coach said: "I think it's better for him than being nailed to the number ten position (playing the number eight) because he can play a role in different areas of the pitch and not just the centre of the pitch. ”
Coaches can make tactical adjustments to make the most of players, or players can try to adapt to the manager's standards, depending on how Tenhag makes the change.
On that basis, the Portuguese midfielder may not be a regular starter on a regular basis in the coming months, a characteristic of Tenhag's 4-2-3-1 formation that cannot fit him.
Well, today's talk of a ball is here. Personal opinion, do not like light spray!