Bruno Fernandes has been far less influential for Manchester United this season, and his drop in output has coincided with the club’s worst league start in 40 years. Seven weeks after he was named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26, the Manchester United captain is searching for the form that made him one of the most productive players in the club’s recent history.
Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House in August and spoke of his pride at the award. He had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions, recognising his contribution to United’s unexpected third-place finish. He scored nine goals and claimed 21 assists in the league, a total that broke a Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne.
His influence over the final 11 games of last season was extraordinary. Of the 21 goals United scored in that stretch, Fernandes either scored or created 12. 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 12 goals. Statistically, 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 slow start in the numbers
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games this season. He has three goals and one assist, all of them coming in the 4-0 win against Ipswich, the second game of the campaign and still United’s only league victory so far.
Those figures are better than last season’s opening six games, when he scored twice and created nothing. However, he was then playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred, so the comparison is not straightforward.
The underlying data show a clearer picture. Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game this season, his second-highest figure at Old Trafford, behind only the 3.5 he managed in 2020-21. Yet his average of 0.8 shots on target is joint-second lowest of his time at the club. His chance creation has fallen to 2.5 per game, the second lowest of his career at United and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Perhaps most striking is his big chance count. 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. Last season he averaged one per game.
These figures help explain why United have collected just six points from their opening six league games. That is their worst start to a league campaign in 40 years, when Ron Atkinson was sacked to make way for Sir Alex Ferguson. The question now is whether Fernandes is a cause of United’s problems or a symptom of them.
Fitness and the manager’s response
Fernandes’s fitness has also drawn attention. He rarely misses a game, but he was left out of the recent Nations League match with Norway, with national team boss Jorge Jesus saying the former Sporting man was “playing through pain”.
He 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 against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United manager Michael Carrick does not see his fitness as a concern 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.”
The missing support 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. 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 those two players is now clearly felt. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, but United’s low running numbers cannot be blamed on his departure alone, although his positioning and game knowledge were of a high standard. Fernandes could take risks in the knowledge that United would not be overrun on the transition if he lost the ball.
Sesko’s fresh shin injury extends a lack of involvement that is being keenly felt, and there is no end date in sight.
The club 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, that arrangement feels restrictive. He is not a player who lacks confidence, but his decision-making seems to be suffering. Against Tottenham at the weekend, it took him an incredible 23 minutes just to complete a pass.
Carrick’s verdict
On Monday, as he looked ahead to the Champions League meeting with Atletico, Carrick said that nobody 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 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.”