Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo incompatibility is haunting Manchester United

When Manchester United signed Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, many fans expected that the forward would rekindle a productive partnership with the club's existing 'Portuguese Magnifico', Bruno Fernandes, as they had successfully played together previously for the national team.

United fans had already seen at close quarters the benefit of a partnership at the tip of an attack with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min running riot with two goals apiece in a 6-1 win for Spurs at Old Trafford last season. The pair have firmly established themselves as one of the most potent attacking duos in the Premier League.

In fact, after their link-up against Leeds United on Saturday, they now rank as the most deadly partnership in Premier League history with 37 total goal contributions ahead of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard on 36.

United have not been able to replicate that type of firepower with Ronaldo and Fernandes working in tandem. Since Ronaldo's debut, the two Portuguese stars have only linked up for a single goal, ironically against Spurs, which is baffling given that one is meant to be United's major goal threat while Fernandes is meant to be the club's main creator.

In fact, some of Fernandes' best games statistically have come while Ronaldo has not been on the field. He scored his first and only hat-trick for United against Leeds at the start of the season before the club's famous No.7 rejoined the club from Juventus.

And he also scored a brace against Aston Villa in United's 2-2 draw, which was a game that Ronaldo was rested in and Fernandes also registered two assists against Brentford, with one of those arriving when the striker had vacated the field.

So are Ronaldo and Fernandes getting in each other's way?

The penalty