Bruno Fernandes proves his leadership skills as he gives Marcus Rashford penalty and sends Alejandro Garnacho a reminder

Bruno Fernandes demonstrated why he is Manchester United captain with his treatment of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho on Sunday.

The Premier League giants beat Everton 3-0 to rise to sixth in the table despite their fluctuating start to the season.

A stunning overhead kick from Garnacho kicked off proceedings before goals from Rashford and Anthony Martial sealed the result.

Fernandes captained the side for the 17th time this season, although his credentials as skipper had been questioned in recent weeks.

However, he quashed any doubts about his ability to lead United when he spoke the decision he made regarding who their penalty taker is.

The Portuguese international normally takes their spot-kicks but opted to hand the duty to Rashford, who had scored just one goal this term prior to Sunday evening.

“I felt Marcus needed a little bit of confidence, needed his goal,” he told Sky Sports after the match.

“Marcus is an excellent penalty taker too, I was 100 per cent sure he could score that penalty. It’s not about who takes it, it’s about scoring the penalty and Marcus did it perfectly.”

Rashford fired his penalty into the roof of the net to guide United to victory, but no goal was ever going to top Garnacho’s.

The youngster netted arguably the strike of the season after just three minutes, with his overhead kick flying into the top corner.

Such a goal signals his continued development at United, with the 19-year-old already proving key for the side at such a young age.

Despite this, Fernandes believes he can be even better and there is still work for him to do to be the best he can be.

“Ah, he was so-so,” Fernandes jokingly said when asked to describe his teammate’s performance at Goodison Park.

“He knows I have high expectations of him. He has a great future ahead. He’s not a great player yet. We expect a lot from him, but obviously, amazing goal.”

United have now won four of their last five Premier League matches, with their latest victory taking them to within four points of the top four.

A tough test away at Galatasaray awaits them next though, with nothing but a win potentially sending them out of the Champions League.