After a dominant five-goal victory, the veteran defender hailed Kobbie Mainoo’s monstrous midfield evolution, signaling a bright future for the 21-year-old under the lights at Old Trafford.
Manchester United's season started with a disastrous 2-0 loss to newly promoted side Hull City, but they expertly bounced back to record a dominant 5-2 victory over Ipswich to kickstart their 2026/27 Premier League campaign.
Fresh off the bat of being named the PFA Players' Player of the Year for his immense performances in the 2025/26 season, where he also broke the assist record, Bruno Fernandes picked up where he left off last season after being fairly disappointing in the side's opening-day defeat.
After going down a goal, the Portuguese maestro was on hand to level the score going into half-time, which he said post-match was crucial for the side.
United emerged from the half-time break with renewed intent and were rewarded for their pressure when a Harry Maguire effort found its way into the Ipswich net. Fernandes then added another goal to his tally from the penalty spot to put the hosts in control.
The club captain completed his hat-trick when he reacted quickest to a deflected Bryan Mbeumo shot, bringing the ball under control and producing a composed finish to notch his third United hat-trick.
The 31-year-old capped off his performance with an assist for Mbeumo to open his assist tally for the season.
Harry Maguire praises Kobbie Mainoo's performance
While Fernandes received the majority of the plaudits, and rightfully so, Kobbie Mainoo enjoyed an excellent start to his Premier League campaign after not starting against Hull to make the midfield look much more solid than on the opening day.
Speaking after Man Utd's victory, Harry Maguire heaped praise on the 21-year-old's composed performance. "I thought he was brilliant," said Maguire.
"To say he hasn't had many minutes in pre-season, he was magnificent.
"His work without the ball has improved so much since Michael's been in. He's becoming a real monster in there, wins a lot of second balls and a lot of duels.
"The thing is he's so young. If we want him to play for this club for another 10 years, there's going to be times where he's going to go through a patch like I spoke about with Rashy and myself.
"But that's part and parcel. He's really level-headed, really composed and has great belief in his ability.
"He's going to be a magnificent player for this club for many years."
The future of Man Utd's midfield is exciting
Looking back on Rúben Amorim's time at Manchester United, perhaps the Portuguese coach's biggest disappointment was that he couldn't find a place for Kobbie Mainoo in midfield, who almost left the club in the January window when Amorim was sacked.
Instead, the 21-year-old opted to stay at Old Trafford and enjoyed a fantastic turnaround in form under Michael Carrick, becoming a mainstay in the midfield that led to the Reds finishing in third, also earning a call-up to Thomas Tuchel's England side, although he would have been disappointed to not have played a single minute in the USA.
Mainoo has played a major role in the engine room under Carrick, and it's clear he has to be the foundation of United's midfield going forward.
Manchester United spent £70 million to bring in 22-year-old Carlos Baleba, whose defensive midfield role could complement Mainoo brilliantly in the middle of the park for years to come.
