Even in the letters on the back of their shirts, Bruno Fernandes and Enzo share many similarities.

Now these two midfielders find themselves in the same city. Sunday's Manchester derby will be the first direct confrontation between the two since Enzo joined Manchester City from Chelsea for £125 million ($169 million) on the final day of the transfer window.

Both are highly creative individualists, and their passionate displays on the pitch have always been quite controversial. Since Enzo made his Premier League debut in February 2023, no player has received more yellow cards (11) for protesting to referees than him. Arguing with the referee is also the trademark of Bruno Fernandes, and the Manchester United player has also picked up 6 yellow cards during the same period.

This indicates that both are highly competitive and clearly need some emotional friction to ignite their creativity. However, once they hit their stride, few can replicate their complete attacking style.

Last season, Bruno Fernandes set a new Premier League record for assists in a single season with 21, clearly being more prolific at creating chances. The Portuguese international has created 235 chances since the start of the 2024-25 season, leading the league; Enzo is second with 147. However, on a per-90-minute basis, the Argentine ranks only 18th.

However, chances and assists only reward the final pass of each attack. Beyond these completion statistics, there are still many similarities in how the two create threats across the pitch.

Both possess the vision and technique to complete a large number of line-breaking passes. For those unfamiliar with this concept, these are passes that bypass a group of opposing players, whether completed in attack, midfield, or between defensive lines. The example below shows a pass that bypasses both the midfield and defensive lines simultaneously.

The most notable aspect of both players is the range of their line-breaking passes. The graph below shows passes delivered behind defensive and midfield lines. Both players excel at delivering the ball into space behind the opposing midfield and in front of the defensive line, and they also frequently cut the final line directly to set up teammates arriving at speed. Last season, Bruno Fernandes delivered 59 line-breaking passes, ranking first in the Premier League; Enzo was third with 55.

From Manchester City's perspective, Enzo's position on the graph in relation to his new teammate is encouraging and suggests they should work well together. Manchester City manager Maresca intends to use Enzo as a deep-lying number 6, and no midfielder last season was better at delivering the ball behind the opposing midfield. This means he can provide the ball to the more advanced Fernandes, who can then deliver those incisive passes behind Haaland for him to run onto.

Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes was almost exclusively responsible for Manchester United's creativity last season, completing 131 line-breaking passes in his own midfield—47 more than Enzo at Chelsea—and only 8 more in the opposing midfield. The Argentine still possesses comprehensive ability to make penetrating passes, but can concentrate his efforts more in his preferred left-flank area. He is also highly prolific in more central areas, with no one making more than his 21 line-breaking passes in the number 10 zone.

The key to both players frequently finding teammates between the lines lies in their quick thinking and execution, allowing them to deliver the ball early before defenders can close the space. Bruno Fernandes' game can sometimes appear rushed. According to tracking data company SkillCorner, he attempted 712 first-touch passes last season, more than 100 more than any other Premier League player, with Enzo in sixth place with 514.

This tendency to take risks is the main difference between the two, and it is precisely what makes them so suited to their respective teams. Bruno Fernandes has a 70% success rate for first-touch passes, while Enzo has 76%. However, the Manchester United captain carries a much greater creative burden.

After reuniting with his former Chelsea manager Maresca at Manchester City, Enzo will be more accustomed to a possession-based style of play, more controlled, in which his relatively measured creative approach is more appropriate.

This contrast makes Bruno Fernandes appear as a more immediately striking creator, but the creativity of his new Manchester rival cannot be fully reflected by his actions with the ball. As The Athletic reporter Tom Harris wrote, few players make as many disruptive runs without the ball as Enzo.

One way to measure the value of such runs is through Expected Threat (xT). Simply put, it measures the probability of a shot being created in the next 10 seconds. xT combines tracking data, considering ball position, teammate positions, and defender proximity to estimate how dangerous an attack is.

Last season, Enzo's off-ball runs cumulatively increased Chelsea's xT by 41.7, the highest value contributed by any Premier League player, with Liverpool's Gakpo in second place with 37.2. On a per-90-minute basis, the two are level, with only Foden, Enzo's former teammate, above them. This is not to say these runs directly created that threat; as mentioned earlier, xT is calculated based on multiple factors, but Enzo's league-leading data indicates his runs are consistently linked to threat creation.

In contrast, Bruno Fernandes' xT is only 25.5, ranking considerably lower, which indicates that runs into the box are a smaller part of his game, and he focuses more on delivering more ambitious passes to Manchester United's attacking teammates.

Although Enzo's runs are more purposeful, he has scored only 5 goals from open play since joining Chelsea, 3 fewer than Bruno Fernandes in the same period. However, these runs often draw defenders away, creating valuable space for Chelsea's other attackers, especially key player Palmer.

Beyond the precise data on line-breaking passes and off-ball runs, these two also share some intangible similarities: both are passionate players who never give up. Others might shrink from the intense, noisy atmosphere of a Manchester derby, but they will only let their creative desires burn even brighter.

Both will deliver completely committed, even fiery performances, with passionate shouting and constant encouragement also forming part of the sharp antagonism in this historic rivalry.

But above this inevitable emotional drama, what is even more anticipated is the brilliant football brought by these two players. Their similarities go far beyond their names, and like the letters on the back of their shirts, they still maintain their unique individuality.

Traduzido por IA.

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