In a tight opening match against Manchester City and Newcastle United, it was a league debutant that stood out in former Porto midfielder Fernando as the current champions of England opened the campaign with a win.
Joining an astonishingly cheap £12million this summer, Fernando featured in last week’s Community Shield when City looked they were more concerned with their final fitness preparation before the start of the league season. This weekend however, Fernando looked the complete article and was a pivotal player in getting the win for Manchester City.
Defence Saving Pace
On a number of occasions last season, mainly when the brilliant Fernandinho didn’t play, there were open gaps behind between the defence and midfield. Again, at St James Park Newcastle managed to find these gaps on the counter attack, but nothing came from it for the home side due to the excellent tracking back and pace from Fernando – something that will see him easily adapt to the Premier League.
For anyone who watched Match of the Day 2 on Sunday night would have seen the montage they used to show this, including the time he charged past Kompany with ease to slide in and divert a shot that was destined for the bottom corner behind for a corner. As has been mentioned many times before with Fernandinho, Fernando’s role in the team can allow Yaya Toure to venture forward – something that was pivotal in helping City win the league last season – and his pace to get back allows the former Porto midfielder to cover Toure more effectively than the departing Javi Garcia ever could.
Defensively Solid
As noted above, Fernando managed to track back and place pressure on the attacker, sometimes leaving the Newcastle player without a moment to think, but he managed to do this effectively without giving away a ton of fouls – he did however receive a yellow card for the 1 foul made. Making 3 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 clearances – with 2 clearances, an interception and blocked shot in the 18-yard box – Fernando’s contribution helped keep City in the lead until the victory was confirmed by Aguero’s goal in the last minute.
In the bigger games this season, in both the Premier League and Champions League, Fernando’s ability to shield the back line against fast and direct attacks will be a major advantage for Manchester City.
Calm in possession
Not only is the deepest lying midfielder expected to do the dirty work in front of the 18 yard box, but they are often the start of the ventures forward and to be able to be confident on the ball and not cheaply give away possession in a dangerous area is an important foundation for the team.
Against Newcastle, Fernando allowed City to keep the ball when Newcastle looked to be gaining the advantage finished as the Brazilian midfielder made 58 passes with a passing accuracy of 91.4%. The fact that he only attempted 1 long ball throughout the match shows his main intention was to retain possession, which will prove vital in future away matches at tough grounds.
