97 touches, 7 long balls, 5 duels won: £54m United star had best half of the season vs West Ham, he was very unlucky - opinion
Manchester United suffered their fourth defeat of the Premier League campaign against West Ham United at the London Stadium yesterday.
The Red Devils were undoubtedly the better team in the opening half and they could have easily been two or three goals up with the clear-cut chances created.
However, they went into half-time with a goalless scoreline. The Hammers improved after the break and opened the scoring through Crysencio Summerville in the 74th minute.
Casemiro brought United level in the 81st minute, but the east London club eventually bagged the winner through Jarrod Bowen. He scored a controversial penalty in stoppage time.
United were unlucky to end up on the losing end following a poor refereeing decision, but they could have won the game by a significant margin on another day.
Fernandes had a lively outing on Sunday on his return to the team. The Portuguese had 96 touches against the Hammers with as many as 58 passes completed.
He created two big chances including one for Diogo Dalot. The right-back had an open goal to shoot at after beating the goalkeeper, but he somehow fluffed his lines.
Fernandes had his best opening half of the league season in our opinion. The 30-year-old was very unlucky against the Hammers and should have had at least one assist.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese also had negatives from the game. He missed a glorious chance to open the scoring when he was completely left unmarked. His free header went over the bar.
Fernandes ended up without a single shot on target while losing possession on 21 occasions. He had seven successful long balls, winning five out of nine ground duels.
The Red Devils captain has been the main source of creativity for the club over the years, but he has had a tough start to the campaign with 28 shots without a league goal.
This is currently the worst statistic in the division with Eddie Nketiah and Bernardo Silva far second with 15 attempts without finding the back of the net this campaign.
Fernandes had a superb opening half against West Ham, but he lacked the same effectiveness after the break. He failed to complete any of his four crosses attempted.
The Portuguese needs to step up with his performance further. His goal contributions are vital for United as they look to climb up the league table in the coming games.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
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