Man Utd star Bruno Fernandes reveals he modeled his stunning passing game after the ex-international he calls ‘the professor’.

A FORMER international team-mate whom Bruno Fernandes calls ‘the professor’ taught him how to pass with the outside of his foot, the Manchester United ace revealed.

The Red Devils reached the Wembley final, where they will play Newcastle later this month, with a 5-0 aggregate scoreline over Nottingham Forest.

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But at Old Trafford on Wednesday, it took a late-night excitement to get the goals flowing and secure a 2-0 win over the newly promoted side.

Anthony Martial opened the scoring in the 73rd minute, followed shortly after by a second by Fred.

But it was Fernandes’ off-boot pass that took the plaudits for United’s second goal of the evening.

When asked after the game where he developed his skills, Fernandes revealed he learned them from Portuguese icon Ricardo Quaresma, whom he calls “the professor”.

Quaresma is a trickster himself, having won 80 caps for his country between 2003 and 2018.

In 2009 he was even loaned to Chelsea for a short time.

But his career intersected with Fernandes’, with the pair playing together for Portugal between 2017 and 2018.

Fernandes tells Sky Sports: “I learned from Quaresma, so I had a great professor in Portugal, so you have to learn with the players. You have to learn their tricks and use them.

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“Like Luke said, one in 20 isn’t bad! I’m really happy with the team’s performance and with the goals we scored.

“We had some chances and could have scored more goals but I think Nottingham [Forest] really well defended.

“It was hard to get into their defense but we did it.

“We won and we’re in the final, so we’re very happy with that.”

United have not won a trophy since 2017 when Jose Mourinho was in charge.

But Fernandes has urged his team-mates not to lose focus on the Premier League and their hunt for a place in the top four.

He said: “Of course it’s really good. For me it was three years in the cup, we reached a final and unfortunately didn’t win it.

“But now we still have a chance. But before that there are still many games to come, we have to prepare for that.”

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