Man United fans will love why Bruno Fernandes passed up his hat trick opportunity to give the penalty to Marcus Rashford

It’s widely accepted that Bruno Fernandes has improved Man United with his quality on the pitch, but there are clear signs that he has the leadership skills to drag everyone up to his standards.

There’s a fine line to be drawn because he has shown examples where he’ll call teammates out if they’re doing something wrong and that won’t always go down well, but Fernandes backs up his words with actions too.

He passed up the opportunity to score a hat trick tonight when he passed a penalty on to Marcus Rashford instead, and the fans have to love his reasoning for this.

READ MORE: Video: Bruno Fernandes gleefully puts Man United 2-0 up after some horrific Basaksehir goalkeeping

The BBC picked up on his comments about it after the game, and it’s clear he felt it was the best thing for the team and it would give Rashford a boost with the goal:

“Of course every player wants a hat-trick, but after the game in the Premier League I told Rashford that he could take the next one.

“Also, he’s one of the top scorers in the Champions League so it’s important for him to get the confidence. It doesn’t matter who takes the penalty as long as the team scores.”

It’s easy to be critical and point out that he can afford to pass up penalties because it’s not like he’ll have to wait long for the next one to come along, but it’s another display of leadership and putting the team first.

United don’t have many characters who look like they can lead and improve those around them, so it shows why Fernandes is so crucial to this team.