Incredible Bruno Fernandes record shows risk vs reward for Manchester United

In the dying moments of Manchester United's win over Luton last weekend, Bruno Fernandes did something that nearly cost his team the win.

United had just won a corner kick in the penultimate minute of the game, and with it, the perfect opportunity to take the sting out of the game by running down the clock.

They played it short, but instead of keeping the ball in the corner, the club captain cut inside and drilled a low effort into the hands of Thomas Kaminski. The Luton 'keeper collected with ease and launched a break. Less than a minute later, Ross Barkley headed against the crossbar from the corner Luton had won as a result of it.

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It's true that if United had dropped points last weekend, then there would have been plenty of reasons why it happened, but it would have been very hard to overlook the needless risk Fernandes had taken at the death.

Fernandes' decision to shoot raised fresh questions about his suitability for Erik ten Hag's system, with the Portuguese playmaker far more inclined to take risks than his midfield teammates.

Ten Hag's desire is for United to be calm and composed in possession and for players to be patient when an opening isn't on, rather than attack too quickly and rush into poor decision-making.

It is clear that Fernandes is somewhat of a contradiction to this style of play, yet that is also exactly why he remains such a valuable asset to a side that can sometimes be a bit too passive in attack.

Since his Premier League debut, the Portugal international has created more chances than any other player in the competition (405). He’s also created a league-high 72 chances