Thierry Henry pointed out Bruno Fernandes’ brutal dressing down of Amad as the Sky Sports pundit passionately spoke about Manchester United’s leading man

Thierry Henry waxed lyrical about Bruno Fernandes and singled out the Manchester United star’s ‘football brain’ and attitude in a passionate dissection of his man-of-the-match display against Aston Villa. The Arsenal legend also branded Fernandes ‘cocky’ and commended him as he highlighted a fiery moment between the Portuguese star and team-mate Amad.

The 31-year-old has now recorded more assists than any other United player in a single Premier League season after registering two in the impressive 3-1 win on Sunday. His 16 assists this campaign have seen him surpass the previous record set by David Beckham in 1999/00.

The Portuguese has been one of the few bright spots at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. The former Sporting star has consistently demanded excellence from his teammates on the pitch and was seen calling for more from Amad in the closing stages of Sunday’s win.

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And Fernandes’ gesture received praise from Henry while the Frenchman was working as a pundit for Sky Sports on Monday Night Football.

He said: “He wanted the ball from Amad and I want to show that because people always used to kill him when they lose the game. That’s 3-1, still two minutes to go. He killed Amad.”

When it was put to Henry that Fernandes’ criticism could be a flaw, the 48-year-old said: “No, that’s him. He will argue with his dad or with anyone.

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“He argues with himself, he finds a way. What I’m trying to say to you is, even when he wins, he is like that. He demands excellence from himself and from his teammates. That’s a real leader for me.”

Footage then showed Fernandes reacting in a confident manner on the pitch, to which Henry said: “Yeah, be cocky, but when he wins, it’s kind of okay.

“My name for him now is Braino Fernandes. This guy thinks. I love it – I’ve always liked him.

“What this guy has been doing in some difficult moments for Man Utd has been outstanding.”

Fernandes has often been praised for his footballing intelligence, a skill Henry raises. He added: “Speed without control is useless, but if you can control the speed of your brain, then you’re going to be faster than anyone on the field and this is what this guy has in abundance.

“I mentioned it when I was here before, he doesn’t play football, he thinks it, and he did that so well at the weekend

United now sit three points clear of fourth-placed Aston Villa in third. Sunday’s win was a huge boost for United’s hopes of securing Champions League football, with Michael Carrick’s side now six points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea.

Carrick’s team are also just seven points adrift of second-placed Manchester City, who slipped to a 1-1 draw at relegation-threatened West Ham on Saturday.

The Reds go to Bournemouth next on Friday (8pm GMT) in their final fixture before the international break. They then do not return until a home fixture against Leeds on April 13.