Manchester United have struggled at left-back this season, this makes Alvaro Fernandez’s form even more annoying to see.
This entire season, left-back has been where Manchester United‘s injury woes have been most noticeable.
Luke Shaw has missed most of the season through injury, while Tyrell Malacia has missed the entire season with no return in sight.
Erik ten Hag sent Sergio Reguilon away in January and also sent away Alvaro Fernandez, who many were impressed by during preseason last year.
Alvaro would have been an incredible player to have in the squad this season and he’d arguably have made at least 15 Premier League starts.
Instead, he’s on loan at Benfica with an option to buy, and now he’s showing why this was a massive mistake by United.
Alvaro Fernandez will be impressing Manchester United
While it’d be easy to impress United right now as a left-back considering the situation which has Aaron Wan-Bissaka struggling, Alvaro really has shone brightly for Benfica in a 3-1 win over Farense.
On Monday night, he scored his first goal for Benfica and achieved a massive 8.8 match rating from FotMob.
This performance saw him among the standout performers as he did more than just score.
Alvaro had 98 touches, completed four of six dribbles and also made two key passes which demonstrates how involved he was on the ball.
But off the ball, he was equally as dominant winning 10/14 ground duels, three out of four aerial duels and four tackles.
As you’d expect, this display has left the Portuguese press purring over the 21-year-old. Here’s what they had to say.
Portuguese press react to Alvaro’s performance for Benfica
After such an impressive outing, the press in Portugal had a lot to say about Alvaro.
Notícias ao Minuto labelled him as the biggest surprise of the game before they explained why.
Besides the goal, “other moments of prominence in the team’s defensive and offensive processes, showed that the German coach can count on him on the left side of the red defence.”
Record also singled out Alvaro for his performance as they wrote: “In a match in which he has stood out, Álvaro crowned his good performance with a goal.”
Finally, SAPO Desporto said that Alvaro had been a “Porsche” in helping Benfica gain all three points, which we can only assume is a nod to the supercar.
Right now at United, Alvaro would be a welcome addition we wish we’d kept a hold of in January.