Bruno Fernandes is struggling this season, only seven weeks after he accepted the PFA Player of the Year award for 2025-26 in Manchester. The Manchester United captain had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions of the award, recognizing his outstanding contribution to his side’s unexpected third-place finish.
Last season, 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, 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 the club’s 12 goals. He has now scored 111 goals in 335 appearances for the club.
Those statistics were remarkable. They recalled Eric Cantona’s 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when he scored in six successive games, five of which United won by 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 numbers look far less impressive.
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games. He has scored three goals and provided one assist, all coming against Ipswich in the second game of the campaign, which remains United’s only win so far.
On the surface, those figures beat last season’s start, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created nothing. However, Fernandes was playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred at that point.
Worrying Underlying Numbers
This season, Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second-highest figure for total shots at the club. His best was 3.5 in 2020-21. However, his average of 0.8 shots on target is joint-second lowest of his time at Old Trafford. His chance creation has also dropped to 2.5 per game, the second-lowest figure of his Old Trafford career and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
More startling still, he has created just one “big chance” so far this season. That came from 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 collected just six points from their opening six games, their worst start to a league campaign in 40 years. The question now is whether Fernandes is a cause of United’s malaise or a symptom of it.
Fitness Questions and Carrick’s Response
Questions also surround the Portugal playmaker’s fitness. Fernandes rarely misses games, but he was left out of Portugal’s recent Nations League match against Norway. National team boss Jorge Jesus said the former Sporting man was “playing through pain”.
Fernandes did 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 against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United manager Michael Carrick does not see his captain’s condition as a major 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 Support Around Him
When Fernandes was at his most prolific at the end of last season, Benjamin Sesko was a regular in the number nine role, and veteran Brazilian Casemiro anchored United’s midfield. Fernandes created four of the nine league goals Sesko has scored in 2026. He also set up four of the final five goals Casemiro scored for United from 1 February onwards.
The absence of both players is now clearly being felt. Even Casemiro’s biggest admirers could not argue that United’s current low running numbers are down only to the 34-year-old’s summer departure for Inter Miami. His positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard. When Fernandes lost possession, he could take risks, confident that United would not be overrun in transition.
Sesko’s fresh shin injury extends a lack of involvement that is keenly felt, and there is no set date for his return.
The club’s decision-makers ignored calls to bring in more striking support during 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 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, this arrangement 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.
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 part of 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 improve, and that starts with their captain.
