Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney has picked three Manchester United stars in his Team of the Week.
The Red Devils returned to winning ways in the top-flight with a comfortable 3-0 triumph over Leicester City at Old Trafford.
There were several top performers, but captain Bruno Fernandes was the stand-out, playing a part in each of the three goals.
Fernandes scored the opener with a fine long-range strike. His faint touch in the box induced the own goal from Victor Kristiansen.
The Portuguese put the gloss on the performance with an assist for Alejandro Garnacho’s stunning strike from outside the Foxes box.
Deeney heaped praise on Fernandes after the game. The ex-Watford striker said that Fernandes was not great, but scores key goals in critical stages.
He told BBC Sport: “Here’s where we send the internet into meltdown because I’m dropping Bruno back to play alongside Joelinton.
“He wasn’t great throughout the game but at critical stages he scores massive goals.
“He just settles it down when they need him. He’s had his leadership questioned a lot but he came out after the game and spoke well about his team-mate Alejandro Garnacho.”
Deeney also included Noussair Mazraoui in his Team of the Week. The Morocco international started at left-back against the Foxes, but was shifted to the right in the second half.
Diogo Dalot had a tough outing against Abdul Fatawu. The Portuguese was replaced by Jonny Evans. United went into a back three with Mazraoui in the right wing-back role.
Mazraoui completely nullified the threat of the 20-year-old and Deeney acknowledged the same.
He said: “The full-back gets a shoutout because Diogo Dalot was given the runaround by Leicester winger Abdul Fatawu – he had a tough time. United took Dalot off, moved Mazraoui over and he nullified that threat.”
Mazraoui has been a revelation since his arrival from Bayern Munich last summer. He could become an assured starter from one of the wing-back positions under new manager Ruben Amorim.
Against the Foxes, he won nine duels and 100 percent of his take-ons. The 26-year-old has been brilliant with his ability to invert into midfield and looks much more comfortable than Dalot.
In our view, it is unlikely that Mazraoui and Dalot will start together under Amorim, who operates with a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 set-up. Judging by early season form, Mazraoui has an upper hand over Dalot.
Alongside the duo, Deeney also selected Andre Onana who made a good stop to deny Wilfred Ndidi. The Cameroonian ace made five saves in the game with 24 successful passes and four long balls.
Deeney added on Onana: “People may say that ‘it was only against Leicester’ but he made some big saves to keep it level, particularly his stop to keep out Wilfred Ndidi. His distribution was miles better, too.”
Stats from Sofascore.com