Christian Eriksen enjoyed a brilliant return to the starting line-up in Sunday's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, especially considering he was only informed of his role minutes before kick-off.
Manchester United's injury crisis worsened in the warm-up at the City Ground when Marcel Sabitzer felt a minor issue, the Austrian was due to start alongside Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes. And so it came to pass that Eriksen was back in for the first time since picking up an ankle injury in January.
The Dane had come off the bench against Everton and Sevilla, but on Sunday was handed the chance to influence proceedings from the start, consistently finding space between the Forest lines and dictating the pace of the game.
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One of Eriksen's biggest qualities, however, is how he improves those around him - particularly Fernandes. The Portuguese maestro enjoyed another outstanding performance, allowed to drift further forward and into a more familiar No.10 role thanks to his teammates' quality in possession.
"He needs Eriksen to get to that other level," Ferdinand told Vibe With FIVE of Fernandes. "Eriksen the amount of easy passes he makes that are just great for teammates."
It's a point that has already been acknowledged by Fernandes this season, with the stand-in United captain heaping praise on his midfield partner during the September international break, with the pair having started all six of United's league games up until that point.
"It’s really good to play with Christian, he’s a player that can find the passes, find the pockets and obviously make my game easier because he finds me when I move between the lines," Fernandes told club media. "It’s something that’s not easy to do.
"I’m really happy to have him on the team because, as I’ve said before, he’s a quality player. He’s a player who’s showed in the past that he has really good qualities in the Premier League, in the Italian league, even for his national team. So, it’s always a pleasure to play with players like him."
Eriksen's performance against Forest proved both Fernandes and Ferdinand right. The trio of Eriksen, Fernandes and Casemiro remain unbeaten when starting this season and are evidently the foundation of Erik ten Hag's first-choice side. Keeping all three fit between now and June could go a long way to deciding how successful this campaign ends up.
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