Bruno Fernandes has scored 111 goals in 335 appearances for Manchester United, but his form has dropped sharply this season, and the captain’s struggles are now central to the club’s poor start. United have collected just six points from their opening six Premier League games, their worst league start in 40 years.
Only seven weeks ago, Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House and spoke of his pride at being named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26. The Manchester United captain had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions of the award, in recognition of 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 the 21 goals United managed. In the seven-game run that swept 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 was reminiscent of Eric Cantona 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, because this season’s numbers 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 of which came against Ipswich in the second game of the campaign, which remains United’s only league win so far.
The figures are better than last season’s opening spell, when he scored twice in the first six games and created nothing. However, Fernandes was playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred at that point.
This season, Fernandes is taking more shots than at any time in his career apart from his best campaign. He averages 3.3 shots per game, with his best being 3.5 in 2020-21. Yet 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.
Even more striking, he has created just one “big chance” so far this season. That was the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Fernandes averaged one big chance per game last season.
These numbers, along with his wider involvement, may go some way to explaining United’s poor start. The key question is whether Fernandes is a reason for the malaise or a symptom of it.
Fitness and team selection
Questions remain 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 United’s 4-0 win over Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK in the Champions League.
Manager Michael Carrick does not see the issue as a serious 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.”
Missing support on the pitch
At 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 now clearly being felt. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, but his supporters would struggle to argue that United’s current low running numbers come down to his departure alone. His positioning and game knowledge were of a high standard, and they 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 being keenly felt, and there is, as yet, no end date for his return.
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 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, 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 said on Monday that nobody was “guaranteed” a place in his team. However, he added enough caveats to suggest that leaving out his captain is not in his thinking.
“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.”
United must start to improve, and that means Fernandes must do the same.
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