Where would Manchester United be without the brilliance of Bruno Fernandes? Quite possibly in the relegation zone along with Sheffield United.

The Red Devils captain dragged his dysfunctional side to a first league victory in five matches with an inspirational performance summed up by an outstanding long range strike.

The effort, with his weaker foot, put United in the lead for the first time after a maddening match against the Premier League's weakest team, who twice took the lead before Fernandes grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck.

United had made a dominant yet toothless start but found themselves trailing when Onana's loose pass was gobbled up by Jayden Bogle. Maguire headed United level but the Blades, who won 2-1 in their last visit to Old Trafford three years ago, took the lead again in the second half through Chile international Ben Brereton-Diaz.

Maguire again came to United's rescue, earning a penalty from which Fernandes levelled, blasting into the top left hand corner. The Portuguese then found the opposite corner with a tremendous strike that would have been a fitting winner. Instead, United's talisman set up Rasmus Hojlund to score their fourth and not even this chaotic, wild team could let this one slip.

GOAL rates Man United's players from Old Trafford...

Goalkeeper & Defence

Andre Onana (3/10):

Got United off to a horrible start with his disaster pass and his confidence was shot for the rest of the game.

Diogo Dalot (4/10):

Could have done more to prevent Bogle's goal although let down by Onana's pass. Bungled a glorious chance by taking too long to shoot.

Casemiro (7/10):

Much improved on his rusty recent displays, making crunching tackles and reading the game well.

Harry Maguire (7/10):

An inspired performance against his boyhood club, causing a nuisance in the opposing box and defending his own comfortably.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (6/10):

A comfortable display to recover confidence after his woeful display against Coventry.

Midfield

Christian Eriksen (5/10):

Used the ball well but not convincing without it, losing Brereton-Diaz for the Chilean's goal and being beaten too easily in midfield.

Kobbie Mainoo (6/10):

Had many bright passages of play, taking on responsibility in attack as well as defensively.

Bruno Fernandes (9/10):

Talismanic, both in the way he inspired the team with his body language and in the way he raised his level, scoring a truly stunning goal with his weaker foot.

Attack

Alejandro Garnacho (6/10):

Ran hard despite having to come off against Coventry. Set up Maguire's goal but missed some good chances.

Rasmus Hojlund (6/10):

Held the ball up well, was unconvincing in front of goal but kept believing and scored for the first time in two months.

Antony (4/10):

Slow, imprecise and kept miscuing. Another embarrassing display after another week to forget for the Brazilian.

Subs & Manager

Amad Diallo (6/10):

A big improvement on the hapless Antony.

Scott McTominay (6/10):

Helped unsettle the Blades' defence even if he did not directly contribute to the win.

Ethan Wheatley (N/A):

Made his senior debut in added time the day after inspiring the under-18s to Cup glory against Manchester City. Got involved in the action and wasn't far from scoring.

Sofyan Amrabat (N/A):

Brought on in added time.

Erik ten Hag (5/10):

His changes helped win the game although Fernandes was the real reason. It's a mystery why he keeps starting Antony.