Bruno Fernandes: "We didn't know Wan-Bissaka could shoot"
Aaron Wan-Bissaka celebrated his first goal for Manchester United against Newcastle but it came as something of a shock to his team mates.
Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United players were taken aback when Aaron Wan-Bissaka fired in his debut goal for the club on Saturday against Newcastle United. The Portuguese midfielder said afterwards, "We didn't know he could shoot!"
Wan-Bissaka gets off the mark at St James' Park
The full-back marked his 50th appearance for the Red Devils with his first goal for the club in Saturday's 1-4 victory at St James' Park. Fernandes had earlier put the visitors ahead, having missed his first of 11 penalties for the Red Devils, after Harry Maguire had cancelled out an early Luke Shaw own goal. Wan-Bissaka made it 1-3 with an emphatic strike following a one-two with Marcus Rashford, who added a late fourth.
It was the 22-year-old's first goal in England's top flight in his 80th appearance in the competition. In that time, he has attempted 18 shots and found the target just three times. Fernandes says the players were teasing Wan-Bissaka in the dressing room, suggesting his goal was actually a mis-hit cross.
"We didn't know he could shoot!" he said to MUTV. "It's difficult to believe that he can score because we never see him shoot. We were joking to him in the dressing room, saying that we all thought he wanted to cross and he had a bad one and scored. I'm happy for him; he deserved to be involved in these situations. We want him to be more positive, more in the box, because he has such great qualities. Everyone knows him as a defensive player but he can show more as an offensive player. I think he has the quality to do that."
Grabbing debut goal is "a great feeling"
Wan-Bissaka, the 116th different United player to score in the Premier League, admitted he had no thoughts of finesse when he bore down on goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who saved eight of the 28 shots attempted by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side. "It's a good feeling, quite an inspiring one. It was a good team performance as well," said the former Crystal Palace man. "I just wanted to smash it. The keeper had been saving a few shots during the game, so I thought, 'This time, let me just roof it'."