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 earned him PFA Player of the Year honours just seven weeks ago. United have collected only six points from those games, their worst league start in 40 years.
Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House in August and spoke of his pride at receiving the PFA award for 2025-26. He had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions of the prize, recognising his outstanding contribution to United’s unexpected third-place finish. He scored nine goals and claimed 21 assists, breaking a Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. He now has 111 goals in 335 appearances for the club.
Over the final 11 games of last season, Fernandes either scored or created 12 of United’s 21 goals. In the seven-game run that returned United to 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 and recalled Eric Cantona’s form in the 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, given how much his numbers have fallen this season.
A dip in output
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six league games. His three goals and one assist all came in one match, the 2-0 win against Ipswich on 30 August, which remains his side’s only victory so far. His figures are slightly better than last season, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created nothing. However, he was then playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred.
This season, Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second-highest figure at the club, although his best was 3.5 in 2020-21. His average of 0.8 shots on target per game is joint-second lowest of his time at Old Trafford. His chance creation has also fallen to 2.5 per game, the second lowest of his Old Trafford career and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Most startlingly, he has created just one “big chance” this season, a lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence. Last season, he averaged one per game.
These numbers help explain why United have struggled so badly. The key question is whether Fernandes is a cause of the malaise or a symptom of it.
Fitness questions
Doubts also surround the Portugal playmaker’s fitness. Fernandes rarely misses a game, but he was left out of the recent Nations League match against Norway. National team boss Jorge Jesus said the former Sporting man was “playing through pain”.
Fernandes did return for the final two internationals of the extended break. Before that, he completed 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 to face Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
“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.
The absence of Sesko and Casemiro is now clear. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, but his positioning and game knowledge were of a high standard, and his presence allowed Fernandes to take risks in the knowledge that 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 keenly felt, and there is no end date in sight.
The club ignored calls to bring in more striking support in the summer and instead reinforced Carrick’s midfield. A plan to cover Sesko’s initial absence by using Mbeumo as a number nine was scrapped when Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury just before the opening game at Hull. Matheus Cunha took the role instead, but he repeatedly dropped deep into the space Fernandes occupied, and the pair never found an effective way of dealing with it.
For Fernandes, the setup feels restrictive. He is not a player who lacks confidence, but his decision-making appears 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 Madrid match, Carrick said that no-one was “guaranteed” a place in his team. He added enough caveats, however, 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.”