February Review: Luke Shaw, Bruno Fernandes and Daniel James in the plaudits for their performances in February – Who do you choose?

Manchester United played eight matches in February which completed three busy months with saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer side play 26 matches in the three-month period. March will be an easier month with the first international break of 2021 coming at the end of the month with many of the cup competitions advancing in the latter knockout stages with the best club advancing. United won four times in February; Southampton 9-0, West Ham United 1-0, Real Sociedad 4-0 and Newcastle United 3-1. Solskjaer side drew four times also; Everton 3-3, West Bromwich Albion 1-1, Real Sociedad 0-0 and Chelsea 0-0. It was an unbeaten month for United but also a month which saw Manchester City rise to the summit of the Premier League.

February Statistics:

Eight matches played; four wins and four draws. Nine Premier League points won, a place in the quarter-final of the Emirates FA Cup and the round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League. 21 goals scored, five goals conceded and five clean sheets. Out of the 21 goals scored by United in February, Bruno Fernandes scored six, also getting three assists, Marcus Rashford got three goals and two assists, Daniel James got three goals and one assist, Scott McTominay scored three goals, Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani got two goals each and Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored one goal and one assist and there was one own goal. Luke Shaw got four assists with Mason Greenwood, Fred, Eric Bailly and Harry Maguire all getting one assist each.

2 February – Manchester United 9-0 Southampton – Premier League

Goals: Aaron Wan-Bissaka 18′, Marcus Rashford 25′, Jan Bednarek 34′ o/g, Edinson Cavani 39′, Anthony Martial 69’, 90′, Scott McTominay 71’, Bruno Fernandes 87′ penalty, Daniel James 90+3′

Assists: Luke Shaw 18′, 39′, Mason Greenwood 25′, Bruno Fernandes 69′, 90+3′

Manchester United destroyed Southampton 9-0 in the Premier League at Old Trafford. Alexandre Jankewitz was sent off for the challenge on Scott McTominay in the second minute of the match, putting the Saints down to the men. United opened the scoring through Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the 18th minute, doubling their lead through Marcus Rashford in the 25th. Jan Bednarek scored an own goal in the 34th before Edinson Cavani scored a fourth in the 39th. In the second half, United scored a fifth through Anthony Martial in the 69th before McTominay scored in the 71st. Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty in the 87th with Martial completing his brace in the 90th before Daniel James struck in added time.

6 February – Manchester United 3-3 Everton – Premier League

Goals: Edinson Cavani 24′, Bruno Fernandes 45′, Scott McTominay 70′; Abdoulaye Doucoure 49’, James Rodriguez 52’, Dominic Calvert-Lewin 90+5

Assists: Marcus Rashford 24′, Aaron Wan-Bissaka 45’, Luke Shaw 70′; Abdoulaye Doucoure 52’, Michael Keane 90+5

Manchester United drew 3-3 with Everton at Old Trafford in the Premier League. It was a game of two halves for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. Edinson Cavani put United ahead in the 24th minute of the match with Bruno Fernandes doubling the lead with a sublime goal in the 45th minute. Everton got back into the game four minutes into the second half with Abdoulaye Doucoure getting a goal but three minutes later James Rodriguez had levelled United’s early lead. Scott McTominay scored what seemed to be a winner for United in the 70th minute of the match but in the last minute of added time, Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled the score for Everton with David De Gea making two costly errors; Doucoure’s goal and Calvert-Lewin’s goal.

9 February – Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United – Emirates FA Cup

Goals: Scott McTominay 97′

Assists: Marcus Rashford 97′

Manchester United beat West Ham United 1-0 in the Emirates FA Cup on Tuesday evening. It took extra time for United to find the after the Hammers seemingly played for a point in a game that would never see it happen. To play this defensive in a cup match was poor. Victor Lindelof had the best chance of normal time seeing Lukasz Fabianski save his effort in the first half. Mason Greenwood played well and Marcus Rashford missed an easy effort once again, seemingly needing to make things simple again. Scott McTominay opened the scoring seven minutes into the first half of extra time. United will find out who they face in the quarter-final draw which will take place on Thursday evening.

14 February – West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Manchester United – Premier League

Goals: Mbaye Diagne 2′; Bruno Fernandes 44′

Assists: Conor Gallagher 2′; Luke Shaw 44′

Manchester United drew 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in the Premier League. It was a poor start by United as Victor Lindelof seemed t be fouled by Mbaye Diagne, who then beat David De Gea in just over 80 seconds of the match being played. United seemed to lack urgency for a period and failed to break into the match. In the 44th minute though, Bruno Fernandes found the equaliser to get United back into the game but despite Manny attempts to, did not find a winning goal. The Baggies almost scored two more times with Diagne on the break and De Gea managing to get most of his effort on the ball to change its direction. It will be seen as a poor result for United, but a worse one for the Baggies who are 12 points adrift of safety.

18 February – Real Sociedad 0-4 Manchester United – UEFA Europa League

Goals: Bruno Fernandes 27′, 57′, Marcus Rashford 65′, Daniel James 90′

Assists: Daniel James 57′, Fred 65′, Eric Bailly 90′

Manchester United beat Real Sociedad 4-0 in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg at the Juventus Stadium in Turin ons Thursday evening. United opened the scoring through Bruno Fernandes in the 27th minute of the match with the Portuguese midfielder scoring his second goal of the match in the 57th minute. Marcus Rashford scored United’s third goal in the 65th minute of the match with Daniel James finding the back of the net minutes later, but he was offside. The Welshman did get another chance, getting the fourth goal of the match in the 90th minute to complete the scoring for United, giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side a great chance to make it to the round of 16 stage of the competition.

21 February – Manchester United 3-1 Newcastle United – Premier League

Goals: Marcus Rashford 30′, Daniel James 57′, Bruno Fernandes 75′ penalty; Allan Saint-Maximin 36′

Assists: Harry Maguire 30′, Bruno Fernandes 57′

Manchester United beat Newcastle United 3-1 in the Premier League at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford put Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side 1-0 up in the 30th minute of the match but the lead was short-lived as Allan Saint-Maximin found the equaliser for the Magpies just six minutes later. In the second half, United found themselves needing to do more to get back in front and that came in the 57th minute after Bruno Fernandes fed the ball to Daniel James, who scored his second goal of the week and his fifth goal of the season. Fernandes sealed the victory for United in the 75th minute after Rashford was fouled in the box, scoring the penalty to secure all three points with a 3-1 victory. Real Sociedad up next for United to confirm a last 16 place in the Europa League.

25 February – Manchester United 0-0 Real Sociedad – UEFA Europa League

Goals: N/A

Assists: N/A

Manchester United drew 0-0 with Real Sociedad at Old Trafford in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg. United’s four goals in the first leg saw them through to the round of 16 in the competition. Bruno Fernandes almost scored in the first half and Axel Tuanzebe found the back of the net with a thundering header in the 63rd minute of the match but because of a Victor Lindelof foul, VAR and the referee ruled out the goal, which was a shame for the defender. Amad Diallo made his home debut with Shola Shoretire becoming the youngest United player to feature in European competition, which will be something for him to be proud of. United will find out their fate in the competition on Friday as the round of 16 draw is made.

28 February – Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United – Premier League

Goals: N/A

Assists: N/A

Manchester United drew 0-0 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. Both teams matched each other evenly with United the team to be disappointed from the match which now sees Manchester City 12 points clear at the top of the table with United a point better off than third placed Leicester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier in the day. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will be happy with the point but not with the fact that they failed to score, which is starting to become a worry at this stage of the season. United will face Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening before the Manchester derby at the Etihad next Sunday, which will see Pep Guardiola rubbing his hands with joy based on United’s current goalscoring form.

Luke Shaw – six appearances, 435 minutes, four assists

Luke Shaw had an impressive month for United during February. Out of the eight matches United played, Shaw played six times, spending 435 minutes on the pitch. He got himself four assist throughout the month with two against Southampton in the 9-0 thrashing, one against Everton in the 3-3 draw and one against West Bromwich Albion in the 1-1 draw. Shaw has made the left-back position his own this season and he has risen in stature, which is great to see. Shaw was impressive in many of the matches he played and more recently against Chelsea, he was one of the standout performers, despite United failing to score a single goal. March is going to be a much more difficult month and hopefully Shaw continue his February form into the new month.

Bruno Fernandes – eight appearances, 625 minutes, six goals, three assists and three MOTM awards.

A month without Bruno Fernandes being mentioned here will be a bad month for United. The Portuguese magnifico made eight appearances throughout February, playing 625 minutes on the pitch for the Red Devils. He scored six goals and three assists (nine goal contributions) which is a great achievement from the midfielder. Fernandes started with a goal and an assist against Southampton, scoring his second goal of the month against Everton. He scored his third goal against West Bromwich Albion, getting numbers four and five against Real Sociedad. Goal number six and assist number three both came against Newcastle United. He won three Man of the Match awards for performances against Everton, West Bromwich Albion and Real Sociedad.

Daniel James – five appearances, 357 minutes, three goals, one assist and one MOTM award.

Daniel James really started to prove himself during February after getting himself back on the pitch for United. He made five appearances in the eight matches United played, scoring three goals and one assist throughout the month. The Welshman’s first goal came against Southampton in added time. He then got a goal and an assist against Real Sociedad in Turin, which was good performance from him. His third goal came against Newcastle United, scoring in two successive matches, which helped grow his confidence. James won the Man of the Match award for his performance against Newcastle, which will help him on his way at the club. He performed well in the second leg against Real Sociedad and against Chelsea, two matches in which United failed to score.

Notable Mentions: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford

Aaron Wan-Bissaka made a total of eight appearances in March, playing 675 minutes of football, which was good to see. He scored one goal and one assist, the goal coming against Southampton and the assist against Everton. The right-back won the Man of the Match award for his performance against Southampton. Scott McTominay also played well in February, making six appearances and playing 435 minutes of football. He scored three goals; Southampton, Everton and West Ham United, winning the Man of the Match award in that match. Marcus Rashford played eight times, spending 652 minutes on the pitch. He scored three goals; Southampton, Real Sociedad and Newcastle United and two assists; Everton and West Ham United.

Who is your Player of the Month for February 2021?

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A look at what lies ahead in March…

United will play six matches in March which will give them a bit of a break after the busy months of December, January and February, which saw United play a total of 26 matches. United start the month away in the Premier League as they take on Crystal Palace and then the second Manchester derby of the league season at the Etihad. United’s only home match of the month comes against AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg with another trip to London on the cards with a. visit to West Ham United three days later. United then travel to the San Siro to face AC Milan in the second leg match of the round of 16 stage in the Europa League before ending the month at the King Power Stadium facing Leicester City in the Emirates FA Cup.

3 March – Crystal Palace, Selhurst Park – Premier League

7 March – Manchester City, Etihad Stadium – Premier League

11 March – AC Milan, Old Trafford – UEFA Europa League

14 March – West Ham United, London Stadium – Premier League

18 March – AC Milan, San Siro – UEFA Europa League

21 March – Leicester City, King Power Stadium – Emirates FA Cup

Written by John Walker

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I support Manchester United, the greatest English football team to have ever existed. Bruno Fernandes is the latest in a long line of players with great ability to play for the club. I idolised Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Eric Cantona growing up.