To follow the claiming of both major footballer of the year awards by scoring a hat-trick in Manchester United’s first home game was some Bruno Fernandes act, and points to an intent to continue his stellar form of last season.
Ipswich Town came to scythe Michael Carrick’s side via the pace of Julio Enciso, Issa Diop and Daizen Maeda, and when Leif Davis gave them a 29th-minute lead victory was on.
However, the contest turned with Marcelino Núñez’s slip as the break neared. Suddenly Fernandes was rifling in a left-foot bullet and from this juncture United cuffed Gary O’Neil’s team aside.
In 12 second-half minutes (56-68), United scored three times – the first, a Jacob Hargreaves own goal, the next two, Fernandes’s strikes that made his three for the day, Bryan Mbeumo completing the rout.
Carrick was emphatic that the pathetic 2-0 downing by Hull was “just one game” and he was proved correct – certainly going forward. Davis’s opener was derived from holes being punched in the rearguard, and Chuka Akpom’s added-time consolation came from sloppy defending from Lisandro Martínez that allowed Ensico to set up the replacement.
If Fernandes shines so, too, usually do United.
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