Legends who enjoyed a great start at United

Bengaluru, March 31: In a short period of time, Bruno Fernandes seems to have remarkably set his standards high at Manchester United.

The Portuguese arrival from Sporting has quickly developed into a fans’ favourite at Old Trafford and has already drawn comparison with some of the biggest legends of Manchester United.

Fernandes has scored three times and registered four assists in nine appearances in all competitions and is the prime catalyst for Man United’s impressive form resulting in an 11-game unbeaten streak.

He has a direct goal contribution every 95.2 minutes. There are not many players who have had such a huge impact spontaneously just after nine games.

Here we look at five such legends of the Old Trafford who also have had an influential career and will compare their stats with Fernandes after nine games:

Robin van Persie

The Dutch striker has had a similar impact since signing for the Red Devils for the Gunners and he almost single-handedly guided United to the league victory in 2012-13.

Van Persie got off to a flying start scoring on his home debut against Fulham and later a hat-trick against Southampton. The next two games he went blank but again scored twice against CFR Cluj in the Champions League and against Liverpool from the penalty spot. He has had nine involvement in nine games, having a goal contribution in every 73.2 minutes.

Eric Cantona

Regarded as the biggest influential star who led a new age Manchester United side to the richness of glory. The Leeds United top scorer signed with a controversial move but that did not stop his heroics on the pitch. He started his United career on a bang and managed 10 goal contributions after nine games at a rate of one in every 76.5 minutes.

Wayne Rooney

The Manchester United top scorer although made a switch to Old Trafford at a relatively early age but the pressure and weightage of the move did not stop him finding his regular scoring boots.

On his dream debut, he scored a hat-trick along with an assist against Fenerbahce in Champions league. Later on his 19th birthday, he helped Nistelrooy to score the only goal against Arsenal ending their unbeaten run only to score again twice against Newcastle United. He managed a seven-goal contribution in his first nine appearances at a rate of one in every 94.8 minutes.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Another Dutch forward who also has had the same impact during his Old Trafford stay. He scored on his debut against Liverpool in the Community Shield only to lose the tie 2-1.

He went on four games without a goal but still managed four goals and an assist in the next four games making a total goal contribution of six in first nine games at a rate of 117.1 minutes per goal contribution.