On Friday, Amorim outlined his plan to drop Fernandes deeper this season rather than push him into one of the two number 10 roles crucial to his system.
Maybe we should learn not to pay too much attention to the head coach, who picked Fernandes as the right-sided number 10 alongside Cunha, as £65m new arrival Bryan Mbeumo is not deemed fit enough to be involved just yet.
It meant there was a familiarity about the way Fernandes drifted into space in search of the ball and when he got it, generally tried something inventive.
But on another of those nights when United created a number of chances, it was Fernandes who found the net, scoring from the penalty spot after Areola had fouled Ayden Heaven.
His second came from another Areola mistake, when the keeper’s poor pass was pounced on by Kobbie Mainoo. He found Fernandes, who lifted a shot into the far corner.
Fernandes brought more to the game than his goals. He had played in Rasmus Hojlund in the first minute, with the Denmark striker bursting on to the ball, showing good strength as he went shoulder to shoulder with Hammers defender Max Killman before rattling the post with his shot.
It was an overall performance that will leave fans thankful that the Portugal midfielder, the club’s player of the year, rejected a huge offer from the Saudi Pro-League club early in the summer.
After the match, Amorin praised Fernandes for being a “leader, not just on the field, but also off it” and said the 30-year-old “will have more help this season”.
Fernandes scored 19 goals and registered 19 assists in 57 games last season as United finished 15th in the league and reached the Europa League final.
When asked about Fernandes’ importance to the team, Amorim said: “It was so clear last season, you can see it with the goals and assists. But it’s not just that.
“I think now he has more players, I feel, to help him to lead the group, and that is a good thing.
“Sometimes, the problem is he gets frustrated and loses a little bit of focus of his job. Sometimes, he wants to help the teammates so much, it is not the best thing to do. They have to do their job, and Bruno has, for example, to wait for the ball.”
He added: “Last year, I felt sometimes I pushed him back to have more possession in the build-up, and we miss Bruno near the box.
“With different characteristics from Bryan (Mbeumo) and Matheus Cunha – and I really like Kobbie Mainoo’s game – he (Fernandes) will have more help this season.”
