Bruno Fernandes is thrilled to have scored his 50th goal for Manchester United but believes it will be meaningless until the club begins to win trophies.
In United’s routine 3-0 victory over Brentford on Monday, the Portugal international scored an early goal to hit the half-century mark.
Since his debut in February 2020, he has been involved in 61 Premier League goals, second only to Mohamed Salah (73) and Harry Kane (71). (65).
While Bruno Fernandes has been a standout for United in his two years at the club, the 27-year-old has yet to win a trophy.
And as the Red Devils’ season draws to a close without a title, Fernandes has set his sights on making amends.
When questioned about scoring 50 goals, Fernandes told Sky Sports, “I am definitely thrilled, but those figures don’t count.” “I’d rather get numbers with trophies than goals.”
Since scoring against Leeds United in February, Fernandes had not scored in nine outings.
Cristiano Ronaldo added a second goal from the penalty spot after an earlier goal was ruled out for offside, and Raphael Varane completed the scoring with his first goal for Manchester United.
United scored 35 points at Old Trafford this season, four more than they did in the previous season.
This latest victory gave interim manager Ralf Rangnick a winning send-off in his final home game, helping to avert a planned second-half supporter walkout.
“We wanted to deliver a good result and a strong performance because this was our last game of the season at home,” Bruno Fernandes stated.
“We recognize that our performance has not been up to par, but we finished strong at home in the final game of the season. Now that we have additional games to play, let’s concentrate on them.
“We are aware that we must always provide something. The supporters have been fantastic in their support.
“We recognize that our season has not been at the level that it should have been, but there is nothing we can do now but finish strong, win games, and plan for next season.”
United will travel to Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace to finish the 2021-22 season.
Manchester United Trophy Drought
Manchester United has been knocked out of the Champions League for the first time in 40 years after losing to Atletico Madrid.
Due to United’s defeat in Europe, the earliest they can win silverware is by winning the League Cup final next season, which is set to take place on February 26, 2023.
United’s greatest trophy drought in four decades began in 2017 when they last won a major prize. After winning the FA Cup in 1977, they had to wait until 1983 to win the competition for the second time.
United’s 45 percent win rate in all competitions this season is the lowest it’s been since 1989-90.
United has only won three trophies since former manager Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013. In 2016, Louis van Gaal won the FA Cup, and Jose Mourinho won the League Cup and Europa League the following year.
United was expected to mount a serious challenge for trophies this season after the high-profile arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane, and Jadon Sancho last summer, but they quickly fell behind Premier League rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, and now face an uphill battle to finish in the top four.
The Champions League was their last hope, but they were eliminated in the last 16 by Atletico Madrid, extending their trophy drought to the sixth season.
