Bruno Fernandes has scored three goals and provided one assist in Manchester United’s six Premier League games this season, a sharp drop from the form that made him the PFA Player of the Year just seven weeks ago. United have collected only six points from those matches, their worst league start in 40 years, and the captain’s output is at the centre of the debate about the club’s struggles.
Only seven weeks ago, Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House and spoke of his pride at being named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26. The United captain had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions of the award, recognising his phenomenal contribution to his side’s unexpected third-place finish.
Fernandes scored nine goals and claimed 21 assists, breaking a Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Over the final 11 games of last season, he either scored or created 12 of United’s 21 goals. In the seven-game run that swept United back into Europe’s elite club competition after a two-year absence, the 31-year-old was involved in nine of their 12 goals.
Statistically, it was remarkable. It recalled Eric Cantona’s 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when he scored in six successive games, five of them when United scored only once.
“It was a special season for me,” Fernandes told an appreciative audience. “I am very proud.
“But we don’t play tennis. We don’t play just for ourselves. We play for a team, we play for a club, we play for the fans. There is nothing more special than that.”
Those words carry particular weight now, because this season’s numbers are far less impressive.
A Slow Start to the Season
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six league games. His three goals and one assist all came in the second game of the campaign, a win against Ipswich, which remains United’s only victory so far. The returns are still better than last term, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created nothing. However, he was playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred at that point.
This season, Fernandes is taking the second-highest number of shots of his time at Old Trafford, averaging 3.3 per game. His best was 3.5 in 2020-21. Yet he is also registering the second-lowest number of shots on target, averaging 0.8. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is the second-lowest of his United career and well down on the 4.0 he managed last season.
Even more striking, he has created just one “big chance” so far. That was the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Last season, Fernandes averaged one big chance per game.
Those figures, along with his general involvement, go some way to explaining why United have struggled. The question is whether Fernandes is a cause of the malaise or a symptom of it.
Fitness Doubts and Carrick’s Response
There is also uncertainty over the Portugal playmaker’s fitness. Fernandes rarely misses games, but he was left out of the recent Nations League encounter with Norway. Jorge Jesus, the national team boss, said the former Sporting man was “playing through pain”.
Fernandes was fit enough to return for the final two internationals of the extended break. Before that, he played the full 90 minutes in United’s 4-0 Champions League win against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United manager Michael Carrick does not see it as a problem as he prepares his side for Tuesday’s Champions League game against Atletico Madrid.
“He was carrying something but that happens a lot,” Carrick said. “Players play with issues.
“It’s not ideal but it is manageable. Bruno is able to play. That is the commitment he has got.
“He is pretty much over it, was really bright in training this morning and is looking forward to the game.”
Missing Support Around Him
Towards the end of last season, when Fernandes was at his most prolific, Benjamin Sesko was a regular in the number nine role, and veteran Brazilian Casemiro anchored United’s midfield. Fernandes created four of the nine league goals Sesko has scored in 2026. He also set up four of the final five goals Casemiro scored for United from 1 February onwards.
Beyond goals, the absence of Sesko and Casemiro is clearly being felt. Casemiro’s departure for Inter Miami in the summer cannot fully explain United’s weaker running numbers, although his positioning and game knowledge were of a high standard. With him in midfield, Fernandes could take risks, knowing United would not be overrun on the counter-attack if he lost the ball.
Sesko’s fresh shin injury extends a lack of involvement that is being keenly felt, and there is no end date in sight.
The club’s decision-makers ignored calls for more striking support in the summer and instead strengthened Carrick’s midfield. A plan to cover Sesko’s initial absence by using Mbeumo as a number nine had to be abandoned when Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury just before the opening game at Hull. Matheus Cunha was given the role instead, but he repeatedly dropped deep, into the space Fernandes was occupying, and the pair never found an effective way of working around it.
For Fernandes, that feels restrictive. He is not a player who lacks confidence, but his decision-making does seem to be suffering. Against Tottenham at the weekend, it took him an incredible 23 minutes to complete a pass.
On Monday, as he looked ahead to the Atletico match, Carrick said no one was “guaranteed” a place in his team. He added enough caveats to suggest that leaving out his captain is not in his thinking.
United must improve, and that means Fernandes must improve too.
“He’s a top player, Bruno,” Carrick said.
“Sometimes things don’t quite go for you. Sometimes you have a spell of that.
“But he’s done some incredible things for this football club and he will do the same in the future, there’s no doubt about that.”
