City’s £125m move for Enzo Fernandez was never going to escape scrutiny, but his performance at Old Trafford offered an early demonstration of exactly why Enzo Maresca wanted him.
City were forced to play for more than an hour with 10 men following Phil Foden’s first-half red card against Manchester United, eventually emerging with a memorable 1-0 victory. Erling Haaland scored the winner, but the numbers behind Fernandez’s afternoon tell another part of the story.
Enzo Fernandez produces huge Man City numbers
According to analysis from the Guardian, Fernandez covered more than 10.25km during the derby, with City playing most of the game a man short.
He also made twice as many sprints as any other midfielder on the pitch, while no City player won more duels or made more interceptions. It was quite a workload.
Fernandez has long been known for what he can do with the ball, but Old Trafford demanded something very different after Foden was sent off midway through the first half.
City suddenly had an extra man to account for whenever United had possession, and Maresca needed his midfield to cover ground, compete and remain disciplined. Fernandez did all three.
His relationship with Maresca was one of the obvious strands running through City’s pursuit of the Argentina international following their time together at Chelsea, and the manager pushed hard to add him to his midfield during the summer.
The fee ensures every Fernandez performance will be examined closely. That comes with being a £125m footballer, particularly at a club where expectations are hardly modest.
One derby will not tell us whether City got value for their money.
But on an afternoon when circumstances demanded more than clever passing and comfortable possession, Fernandez delivered exactly the sort of performance his manager needed.
The distance covered tells only part of it. Doing that while City were down to 10 men makes the numbers rather more impressive.
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