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 club’s standout player last term. The Portugal midfielder, who has scored 111 goals in 335 appearances for United, is now at the centre of questions about why his side has struggled.
It is only seven weeks since 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, in recognition of his huge 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 the 21 goals United managed. In the seven-game run that carried 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 in the 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when he scored in six successive games, five of them in matches where United scored only once.
“It was a special season for me,” Fernandes told an appreciative audience. “I am very proud.”
He added: “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
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six league games. His three goals and one assist all came in the second match of the campaign, a win against Ipswich, which remains his side’s only victory so far.
His figures are actually 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 stage.
This season, Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second-highest figure, though his best was 3.5 in 2020-21. His average of 0.8 shots on target is his joint-second lowest. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is the second lowest of his time at Old Trafford and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Perhaps most startling, he has created just one “big chance” so far this season, a lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Fernandes averaged one per game last season.
These numbers help explain why United have collected just six points from their opening six games. It is their worst league start in 40 years, when Ron Atkinson was sacked to make way for Sir Alex Ferguson.
But is Fernandes a cause of United’s struggles, or a symptom of them?
Fitness Concerns
Questions also surround the 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 was fit enough to return for the final two internationals of the break. Before that, he played the full 90 minutes in United’s 4-0 Champions League win over 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 Partners
At the peak of Fernandes’ productivity last season, Benjamin Sesko was a regular in the number nine role, and veteran Brazilian Casemiro anchored United’s midfield. Of Sesko’s nine league goals in 2026, Fernandes created four. 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 clearly being felt. Even Casemiro’s biggest admirers could not argue that United’s low running numbers stem from his summer departure to Inter Miami. His positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard, and they gave Fernandes the freedom to take risks, knowing United would not be overrun on the counterattack 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’s decision-makers ignored calls to bring in more striking support during 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 was given the role instead, but he repeatedly dropped deep into the space Fernandes occupied, and the pair never found an effective way to deal with it.
For Fernandes, that 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 just to complete a pass.
What Comes Next
On Monday, Carrick said no one was “guaranteed” a place in his team, but he added enough caveats to suggest that leaving out his captain is not in his thinking.
United must improve, and that starts with Fernandes.
“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.”