Bruno Fernandes has racked up a fourth Premier League Player of the Month award in record time, equaling Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally in the process.

Bruno’s Portugal team-mate may have dominated the division during his six seasons at Manchester United but he only gathered four of its individual gongs, something the brilliant midfield man has managed in under a year in England. Such has been Fernandes’s impact, it may be no surprise but, in the overall context of the award, his achievement is pretty significant.

Fernandes becomes the first footballer in the English top flight to be named Player of the Month four times in a single calendar year. He also picked up the award in February, May and November, 2020. He also becomes the first man this season to win Premier League Player of the Month back-to-back, after Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Tottenham forward Son Heung-min picked up the gongs for September and October respectively.

The all-time leading Player-of-the-Month winner, Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, only has seven which is certainly an achievable target for Fernandes. In terms of former Reds, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie are on five – although the Dutchman picked up three of his awards while at Arsenal.

Since its inception in 1994 when Jurgen Klinsmann was the first recipient, United have obviously been well represented but Bruno is racing up the leaderboard at rapid speed. This is already the second time he has won consecutive trophies.

Fernandes’s December exploits led to him retaining the prize, as he saw off competition from colleague Marcus Rashford, Emiliano Martinez, Anwar El Ghazi (both Aston Villa), Ben Mee (Burnley), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Tomas Soucek (West Ham) and John Stones (Manchester City).

His second-half display against West Ham United was, in his view, his best since joining the club, he scored twice against Leeds United and he also starred in the 2-2 draw at Leicester City on Boxing Day, finding the net again with a precise finish. In Man United’s last game of 2020, he supplied the assist for Rashford’s dramatic winner against Wolves at Old Trafford.

“Three goals and four assists was a complete month. Thanks very much to every fan that voted for me,” Fernandes told the Premier League website after receiving the award.

“Scoring and assisting your team-mates is perfect. I want to achieve other trophies and awards but I’m really happy to make history,” he added.

Fernandes has been essential in United moving three points clear at the top of the Premier League – a lead they could extend when they play rivals, champions and current second-place side Liverpool on Sunday.

“It’s a long way before we can start talking about being champions. We have to keep working. We play against one of the best teams in England and we know what it means to the fans, but the main point is the same: three points.”

The midfielder is preparing for Sunday’s huge showdown with Liverpool at Anfield – the first time he has ever faced the Merseysiders in a competitive fixture in his career.