Continuing our Saturday Scout Notes, it’s now time to focus on events at Goodison Park, where Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m) was the catalyst for an unlikely turnaround.
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BRUNO INSPIRES COMEBACK
Manchester United came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Goodison Park on Saturday, but this was a far from convincing performance.
United, who scored with their only two shots on target, looked slightly better after the break but generated just 0.5 expected goals (xG) in total, leaving Ruben Amorim exasperated on the touchline.
The only two players to emerge with any real credit from this display were Bruno Fernandes and Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m).
Fernandes started higher up the pitch in United’s front three but dropped into a deeper central midfield role following the introduction of Alejandro Garnacho (£5.9m) on the hour mark.
The tactical tweak provided the spark for United’s comeback, with the team profiting from Fernandes’ ability to progress the ball forward.
He scored a superb free-kick on 72 minutes before Manuel Ugarte (£4.9m) later drew United level.
It’s hard to get too excited about Fernandes as a Fantasy asset right now, given his impact in a deeper role.
Nevertheless, he is owned by just 2.6% of managers in the top 10k and faces two newly-promoted sides in the next three Gameweeks.
“He’s really important, in any position that he plays. He is the guy that can, sometimes in the hardest moments, hold the ball and that is really important for the team. He is a leader, he scored the first goal and he helped us get a point today.” – Ruben Amorim on Bruno Fernandes
Worryingly, however, Amorim has admitted he has no idea how to fix United’s inconsistencies.
“I don’t know what I need to do to bring more consistency. If I knew, I would change it.” – Ruben Amorim
“We just played one half and managed to draw. We didn’t exist in the first half. Everything we did during the week. The free man was there and the space was there. We lost balls we can’t lose.
“At half-time I said no matter the result we are going to do what we did during the week but with more energy. It was not different in terms of our positioning but different in the quality we played the game.” – Ruben Amorim
DORGU THREAT
Another player to impress at Goodison Park was Dorgu, United’s January capture from Lecce.
He was regularly found down the left flank, touching the ball 89 times, the most of any player on the pitch except Fernandes (112).
He was also top for passes received in the final third (26) and fouls won, with five.
Often United’s biggest threat, his performance was a real positive for Amorim.
BETO CONTINUES GOALSCORING FORM
Beto (£5.0m) continued his fine goalscoring form under David Moyes on Saturday, with a poacher’s finish to put Everton ahead.
He’s now scored five goals in his last four matches, a period which has seen 41.7% of his shots hit the back of the net.
Above: Beto’s shot map in Gameweeks 24-26
“It’s all about confidence. Today was about being in the right place at the right time.” – Beto
“We’re beginning to see players who maybe at times people were saying were not playing well or not good enough. We’re beginning to see them finding a little bit of form, a bit of confidence.” – David Moyes
Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.1m) later headed the hosts two up, scoring and assisting on his return from suspension, but it could have been so much more, with Everton controversially denied a late penalty.
The Toffees have at least extended their unbeaten league run to six matches, however, with trips to Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers up next, before hosting West Ham United in Blank Gameweek 29.
“Yes, Doucs played really well. It was a difficult decision to play him or Charly [Alcaraz]. But I think on Doucs’ performance today it showed justification of why we chose him.” – David Moyes on Abdoulaye Doucoure
“Jesper had a flu bug and that was why we took him off so early because he’d said at half-time he thought he was struggling with it. We knew a little bit before the game so that was the reason why we made such an early change on that one.” – David Moyes on why Jesper Lindstrom had to come off for Ashley Young on 54 minutes
