Bruno Fernandes declared himself proud, happy, and grateful after equalling the Premier League record for the most assists in a single season. The newly crowned Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year secured his 20th top-flight assist when Bryan Mbeumo scored during Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest. Fernandes was delighted to draw level with Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, who jointly hold the record.
Fernandes, who had not created a goal in his previous two matches, admitted the milestone had been preying on his mind. "I'm very proud," he said. "We're speaking about Thierry and Kevin, two of the main names of the Premier League, and for me I'm very grateful and I'm very happy to do it. It's a very proud moment."
Fernandes’ teammates had missed several chances he created against Forest before Mbeumo finally found the net. The Portugal international remarked: "I wouldn't say relieved, but very happy, very proud. Obviously, everyone knows it was something that, when you start getting close to that, you start thinking a lot. A good thing is that it doesn't change the way I play because I'm there to serve my teammates, try to make them score goals."
He added: "I'm very grateful to see their reaction more than mine because I wanted Bryan to celebrate his goal. I didn't want to make it about myself because at the end of the day scoring the goal is the biggest thing in football. And all credit to Bryan because if he doesn't put it on the back of the net, my record will not be there. So these records only come if your teammates do the things right as you do."
Fernandes hopes he can set a new record with a 21st assist when Manchester United visit Brighton next Sunday. "Hopefully it can happen," he said. "But if it doesn't happen, I'm already very happy because I've never done 20 assists in the Premier League. I've never done 19 either, so even if I had finished with 19, I would be very happy."
