Bruno Fernandes is struggling to replicate the form that earned him the PFA Player of the Year award, and Manchester United have collected just six points from their opening six Premier League games, their worst league start in 40 years.
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, recognising his huge 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 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 a remarkable spell. It recalled Eric Cantona’s 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when he scored in six successive games, five of them when United managed only one goal.
“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 figures are far less impressive.
A difficult start to the season
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games. He has three goals and one assist, all coming in the second game against Ipswich, which remains his side’s only league win so far.
The numbers are slightly better than last season, 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.
This season, Fernandes is taking his second-highest number of shots, at an average of 3.3 per game. His best figure was 3.5 in 2020-21. His shots on target, however, average just 0.8 per game, his joint-second lowest. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is his second lowest at Old Trafford and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Even more striking, he has created just one “big chance” so far. It 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.
These figures help explain why United have struggled so badly. The question is whether Fernandes is a cause of their malaise or a symptom of it.
Fitness and team selection
There is uncertainty over the Portugal playmaker’s fitness. Fernandes rarely misses games, 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 United’s 4-0 Champions League win over Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United manager Michael Carrick does not see the issue as a major concern 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.”
The missing partners
At the end of last season, when Fernandes was at his most productive, 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 both players is clearly being felt. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, and even his biggest admirers could not argue that United’s low running numbers are down to his departure alone. His positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard. Those qualities gave Fernandes the freedom to take risks, because United would not be overrun on transition 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 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 took on the role, 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, the setup 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.
Carrick backs his captain
On Monday, as he looked ahead to the Atletico match, Carrick said no-one was “guaranteed” a place in his team. He surrounded that comment with 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.”
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