Michael Carrick believes Bruno Fernandes should be in contention for the Premier League player of the year award after the Manchester United captain registered his 19th assist of the season in a 2-1 victory over Brentford. The win puts United on the verge of securing Champions League football.
Fernandes closes in on record
Fernandes is now just one assist away from equalling the Premier League record of 20 assists in a single season, jointly held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry. He set up Benjamin Sesko for United's second goal after earlier providing the corner that led to Casemiro's opener via a Harry Maguire header.
United need only two points from their remaining four league matches to guarantee a return to Europe's elite competition.
Carrick backs Fernandes for individual honour
When asked whether Fernandes deserves individual recognition at the end of the season, Carrick responded: "Hopefully he does. He deserves it for the impact he has had and the moments he’s created, whether it’s creating or scoring or having other influence within the group. He’s had a big season."
Casemiro was named man of the match and received chants from United fans urging him to reverse his decision to leave the club this summer. However, Carrick confirmed the Brazilian's departure is set to proceed.
"It’s pretty clear, from both sides," Carrick said. He added: "Cas has had an influence within the group, he has got huge experience, he’s a big player and has achieved a huge amount in the game, and he has given everything you can possibly give. The situation has probably helped that, knowing there is nothing to hide. It’s football, players come and go. You’ve got to evolve and move on. That’s the world we’re in, but he’s given everything and it’s nice he’s got that connection with the supporters."
Brentford's brave performance
Brentford arrived at Old Trafford with a clear game plan to take the game to United. Igor Thiago missed first-half opportunities, and Dango Outtara hit the post after the interval. United's second goal came from a Brentford attack that was broken up by Amad Diallo, allowing Fernandes to lead the counter-attack. Mathias Jensen's curling strike came too late for the visitors.
Defeat leaves Brentford in ninth place, but they remain only two points off sixth in a congested battle for Europa League qualification.
Brentford boss Keith Andrews said: "I was really happy with how we performed overall. United started the game better than we did, they were dangerous from corner kicks and got the lead from that. I felt after that we calmed down a little bit, we started to take control of the ball a bit better, got to grips with the game, the occasion, and the opposition better and then I thought we were in a good place. We needed to control transitions better especially in the first half. The second goal was really disappointing, the timing and where we were in the game. But the overall performance of the players, the bravery of the players, was really impressive."
