Bruno Fernandes has three goals and one assist in Manchester United’s six Premier League games this season, a start that has left the club with six points, their worst opening to a league campaign in 40 years. Just seven weeks ago, the captain was collecting the PFA Player of the Year award in Manchester.
Those accolades, which also included the Premier League and Football Writers’ awards, recognised his huge contribution to United’s unexpected third-place finish last season. Fernandes scored nine goals and provided 21 assists, breaking a Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne.
Over the final 11 games of that campaign, he either scored or created 12 of the 21 goals United netted. In the seven-game run that returned the club to Europe’s elite competition after a two-year absence, the 31-year-old was involved in nine of their 12 goals. Statistically, it was a remarkable spell, reminiscent of Eric Cantona’s form in the 1995-96 title-winning season, when he scored in six successive games, five of which United won by a single goal.
“It was a special season for me,” Fernandes told an appreciative audience at the awards. “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 the numbers this season are far less impressive. Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six league games, yet his output has dropped sharply. His goals and assist all came in the second game, a 3-1 win over Ipswich, which remains United’s only league victory so far.
The figures are still better than last term, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created nothing. However, he was then operating in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred.
A worrying set of numbers
This season, Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second-highest rate in a United shirt, though his best was 3.5 in 2020-21. His average of 0.8 shots on target is joint-second lowest of his time at Old Trafford. His chance creation has fallen to 2.5 per game, the second lowest of his career at the club and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Most striking of all, he has created just one big chance so far this season, the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Last season, he averaged one per game.
Those figures go some way to explaining United’s struggles. The key question, though, is whether Fernandes is a cause of the malaise or a symptom of it.
Fitness and the manager’s view
Fernandes’s fitness has also raised questions. He rarely misses matches, but he was left out of Portugal’s recent Nations League game against Norway, when national team boss Jorge Jesus said the former Sporting man was “playing through pain”. He was fit enough to return for the final two internationals of the break, and he played the full 90 minutes in United’s 4-0 Champions League win over Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
Michael Carrick does not see it as a problem as he prepares his side for Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with 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 and structure
Towards the end of last season, when Fernandes was at his most prolific, Benjamin Sesko operated as a regular number nine, while Casemiro anchored the midfield. Of the nine league goals Sesko has scored in 2026, Fernandes created four. He also set up four of the five final goals Casemiro scored for United from 1 February onwards.
The absence of both players is being keenly felt. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, and while United’s running numbers have dropped, his positioning and game knowledge were of a high standard. Fernandes could take risks in the knowledge that United would not be overrun on the counter-attack if he lost possession.
Sesko’s fresh shin injury extends a spell of limited involvement, and there is, as yet, no return date.
The club 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 was scrapped when Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury just before the opening game at Hull. Matheus Cunha took on the role, 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 system 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.
Carrick backs his captain
On Monday, Carrick said no one was “guaranteed” a place in his team, though 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.”