Bruno Fernandes has slumped this season, with three goals and one assist in Manchester United’s six Premier League games, while the club has collected just six points, its worst league start in 40 years. Only seven weeks after receiving the PFA Player of the Year award, the Manchester United captain is struggling to recapture the form that made him one of the league’s most influential players.
Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House in August and spoke of his pride in the honour, which came after he had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ awards. He had been central to the club’s unexpected third-place finish, scoring nine goals and claiming 21 assists to break a Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne.
Across the final 11 games of last season, Fernandes either scored or created 12 of United’s 21 goals. During a seven-game run that carried the club back into Europe’s elite competition after a two-year absence, the 31-year-old was involved in nine of their 12 goals. Statistically, it was a remarkable spell, and it recalled Eric Cantona’s 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when he scored in six consecutive games.
“It was a special season for me,” Fernandes told an appreciative audience. “I am very proud.”
He added a message about team spirit. “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 extra weight now, because this season’s numbers tell a much less impressive story. Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six league matches. His three goals and one assist all came in the second game, a 3-1 win against Ipswich, which remains the club’s only league victory so far. Even so, his output is better than it was at this stage last season, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created none. At that point, however, Fernandes was operating in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred.
A Different Picture
Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game this season, his second-highest figure, behind only the 3.5 he managed in 2020-21. His shots on target, though, average just 0.8 per game, which is joint-second lowest of his time at Old Trafford. His chance creation has dropped to 2.5 per game, the second lowest of his Old Trafford career and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
The most striking figure is his big chances. He has created just one so far this season, a lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Last season, he averaged one per game.
Those numbers help explain why United have struggled, but they raise a bigger question. Is Fernandes a reason for the club’s malaise, or a symptom of it?
Fitness Questions
Doubts have also surfaced about the Portugal playmaker’s fitness. Fernandes rarely misses games, yet 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 did return for the final two internationals of the break, and he played the full 90 minutes in the 4-0 Champions League win against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
Manager Michael Carrick does not see his fitness as a major concern as he prepares 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
Fernandes’ output peaked last season alongside Benjamin Sesko in the number nine role and Casemiro in 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 after 1 February.
The absence of both players is now clear. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, and his departure cannot fully explain United’s dip in running numbers. Even so, his positioning and game knowledge gave the side a steadier base, allowing Fernandes to take risks in the knowledge that United would not be overrun on transition if he lost the ball.
Sesko’s fresh shin injury extends a spell without him, and there is no end date in sight.
The club’s decision-makers ignored calls for more striking support in the summer and instead strengthened Carrick’s midfield. A plan to cover Sesko’s early absence by using Mbeumo as a number nine was scrapped when Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury before the opening game at Hull. Matheus Cunha was asked to fill 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 arrangement has proved restrictive. He is not short of 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 Backs His Captain
On Monday, Carrick said no one was “guaranteed” a place in his team, though he surrounded that comment with enough caveats to suggest that dropping his captain is not on his mind. United, however, 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.”