Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes discusses penalty success

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has opened up about the influences behind his impressive penalty success rate.

In an interview with Inside United, the club’s official magazine, Fernandes revealed that he often consults with Cristiano Ronaldo on penalty-taking techniques, given their extensive time playing together for both club and country.

However, another significant influence on Fernandes’ penalty-taking approach comes from his time at Sampdoria.

During the 2016-17 season, Fernandes played alongside veteran forward Fabio Quagliarella, who had returned to Sampdoria after stints at Udinese, Napoli, Juventus, and Torino.

Bruno Fernandes scored two penalty kicks against Real Sociedad in the Europa League

While their techniques for striking the ball from the penalty spot differ, Fernandes explained that what he learned from Quagliarella was the importance of studying and interpreting the movements of goalkeepers, which has helped him improve his chances of converting from 12 yards.

“Many of the penalty-takers, they have a side and they go there. They choose the side before, they go powerful and everything, and they still score. I don’t know, this was always something that I learned from [Fabio] Quagliarella, at the time I was in Sampdoria,” Fernandes said.

“He was always checking with the goalkeepers, what he should do, the way he kicked and everything because, obviously, he had a quick run-up and a very powerful shot. But he was always trying to understand the movements of the goalkeeper and everything and I got that from him.”

Bruno Fernandes is Manchester United’s all-time leading goal scorer from the spot, having converted 36 of his 40 attempts.

Ruud van Nistelrooy follows closely behind with 28 penalties scored between 2001 and 2006, while Wayne Rooney is just one behind, with 27.