Star Man machine Bruno Fernandes set to edge out Kevin De Bruyne at midfield summit

NO matter what happens in the remaining fixtures, Bruno Fernandes (£7.2m) will finish this season as the Dream Team asset with more Star Man awards than anyone else.

Manchester United’s midfield maestro topped the match ratings against Chelsea in Game Week 35 and did the same thing at home to Fulham on Sunday.

Game Week 36’s Star Man gong was his 12th of the season, a tally that puts him in a bracket all of his own.

His closest competitors, Kevin De Bruyne (£8.6m) and Erling Haaland (£10.1m), have nine each at this late stage with just two fixtures remaining.

A Dream Team juggernaut

The nature of the system means each of the Manchester City superstars have missed out on Star Man awards to the other in games in which they have both been brilliant.

Although, that’s the same for every player in the game to some extent and Fernandes certainly lost out on a couple to Marcus Rashford (£7.4m) during the England international’s red-hot streak.

However you look at it, a dozen Star Man awards is a remarkable effort.

Similarly, Fernandes has earned more 7+ ratings than any other player this season, 44, nine more than second-placed Rashford.

It’s the Portuguese playmaker’s mastery of WhoScored’s ratings that means he’s likely to edge out the aforementioned De Bruyne to finish the campaign as Dream Team’s top midfielder.

275 Dream Team points and counting

A 13-point haul at the Cottagers’ expense meant Fernandes boosted his overall total to 275, 30 ahead of his Belgian counterpart, who didn’t feature for Pep Guardiola’s side at Brentford.

De Bruyne is capable of making up the difference in the FA Cup final and Champions League final but given that he averages 5.3 points-per-game this season, the crown seems bound for Fernandes’ head.

The Old Trafford favourite has 13 goals and 15 assists to his name in all competitions in 2022/23 with the FA Cup showdown at Wembley still to play.

Dream Team managers who transferred Fernandes into their XI just after the World Cup (or held him throughout) were greatly rewarded and many gaffers will already have categorised as a ‘must-have player’ ahead of next season’s game.

Cue back-to-back De Bruyne masterclasses…