Bruno Fernandes is struggling to recapture the form that earned him the PFA Player of the Year award, with three goals and one assist from Manchester United’s six Premier League games this season. It is a sharp contrast to the campaign that made him one of the league’s standout players.
It is only seven weeks since Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House and spoke of his pride at receiving the PFA honour for 2025-26. The United captain had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ awards for his phenomenal contribution to his side’s unexpected third-place finish.
Fernandes scored nine goals and claimed 21 assists last season, breaking a Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Over the final 11 games, he 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 it recalled Eric Cantona’s 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.
“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. Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six league games. His three goals and one assist all came against Ipswich, in the second game of the campaign, which remains United’s only win so far.
The numbers are better than last season’s start, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created none. However, he was playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred at that point.
A closer look at the numbers
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 joint second lowest of his time at Old Trafford. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is also his second lowest at the club and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Even more striking, 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. He averaged one per game last season.
These figures help explain why United have collected just six points from their opening six games, their worst league start in 40 years. That was the season Ron Atkinson was sacked to make way for Sir Alex Ferguson.
But is Fernandes a cause of United’s problems, or a symptom of them?
Fitness and the manager’s view
There is uncertainty over 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 was fit enough to return for the final two internationals of the extended break. Before that, he played the full 90 minutes in the 4-0 Champions League win over Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United manager Michael Carrick does not see it as an issue as he prepares his side for 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.”
What has changed 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. Of the nine league goals Sesko has scored 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 clearly being felt beyond goals. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, and United’s running numbers have dropped, but that alone does not explain it. His positioning and game knowledge were of a high standard, and they allowed Fernandes to 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, as yet, no end date for his return.
United’s decision-makers ignored calls for 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 had to be 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 was occupying, and the pair never found an effective way of dealing with it.
For Fernandes, it 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 Champions League meeting with Atletico, 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 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.”