Owen Hargreaves singles out ‘ridiculous’ Man Utd star for praise after Tottenham victory

Owen Hargreaves ran out of superlatives to describe Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United’s 2-0 defeat of ten-man Tottenham, hailing the ‘ridiculous’ midfielder as the side’s ‘best player by a country mile’.

The Red Devils made it four wins from four with another convincing performance under interim manager Michael Carrick, with Bryan Mbeumo and Fernandes netting in either half at Old Trafford.

The scoreline was goalless when Cristian Romero was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Casemiro in the 29th minute, and the hosts made sure to capitalise on their man advantage not long after.

Having wasted several inviting opportunities in the opening half hour, United finally managed to find a breakthrough – and it was Mbeumo who opened the scoring with a fine first-time strike beyond Guglielmo Vicario in the 38th minute.

Bruno Fernandes increased the deficit with a shinned effort with nine minutes remaining on the clock and the hosts held firm to move three points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League table.

The late goal took United’s captain to 200 goal involvements in just 314 top-flight appearances for the club – making him the second-fastest player to reach the milestone since Wayne Rooney.

‘Let’s be honest, 200 goal involvements is ridiculous. They’re Playstation numbers,’ ex-United midfielder Hargreaves said of Fernandes in the TNT Sports studio.

‘He plays with risk but it’s risk that the team benefits from.

‘Kobbie [Mainoo] in behind was fantastic again and Casemiro… those three were probably the three best players in the game, in my opinion.

‘We said beforehand, under Ruben Amorim, that midfield was a weakness but that midfield three is really good.

‘Obviously Bruno is the best player by a country mile and I just think they look so much stronger now as a midfield three.’

Hargreaves felt the match was ’50-50′ until Romero was sent off – for a second time this season – to swing the momentum in United’s favour.

Asked if the red card ‘killed’ Spurs’ chances, Hargreaves replied: ‘It did, yeah.

‘Up until that point, in terms of possession and shots, it was 50-50 and that red card obviously changed the game.

‘But Bruno and Casemiro, they decided to run the game and took over the match.’

According to Hargreaves, the Red Devils showed a different side to themselves at the Theatre of Dreams – one they hadn’t yet displayed in Carrick’s opening three matches in charge.

‘It was very different from the way they played against Manchester City and Arsenal where they played on the counter-attack,’ he went on.

‘They defended really, really well today, we saw something a bit different again.

‘I thought the midfield three ran the game, controlled it, passed the ball beautifully and in the decisive moments they were there.

‘The first goal from the set-piece was amazing but the second one, the finish, the improvisation from Bruno…

‘I reckon that’s one of his favourite goals he’s ever scored because, technically, do you know how hard that is to shin-finish that with the outside of your leg?

‘Not many other players in the world could have scored that goal and made it look comfortable. Even with the inside of the foot, never mind with the outside of the shin.’

Hargreaves concluded his analysis by picking out Mbeumo for special praise, likening the forward’s ‘attitude’ and composure in front of goal to that of Mohamed Salah.

‘Do you know what I like? And it’s probably going to sound ridiculous… I like that he doesn’t overly celebrate when he scores,’ Hargreaves said of United’s £71million summer signing.

‘It looks like he believes he should do it all the time.

‘Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are at that perfect age where they’ve been in the Premier League, they understand it, but they can deliver as well.

‘Mbeumo has just got it. He’s a great finisher and I said at the start of the season how he reminds me of Mohamed Salah.

‘He’s a good finisher, he has a clear picture, he doesn’t get too up or too down and that’s a brilliant attitude to have when you’re playing for a big club.’

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