Just seven weeks after Bruno Fernandes accepted the PFA Player of the Year award for 2025-26, the Manchester United captain is struggling to repeat his form, and his numbers this season are well down on last term.
Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House in August and spoke of his pride in the honour. He had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions of the award, recognising his huge contribution to United’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 of the campaign, 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 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 which United won by a single 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 extra 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 this season. He has three goals and one assist, all of them coming against Ipswich in the second game of the campaign, which remains United’s only league win so far.
The numbers are better than last season’s start, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created none. However, Fernandes was then playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred.
This season, Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second-highest figure for shots, though his best was 3.5 in 2020-21. His average of 0.8 shots on target 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 managed last season.
Even more striking, he has created just one “big chance” so far this season. That was the lofted pass which 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 taken only six points from their opening six games. It is their worst league start in 40 years, when Ron Atkinson was sacked to make way for Sir Alex Ferguson.
The question is whether Fernandes is a cause of United’s problems or a symptom of them.
Fitness Concerns and Carrick’s Response
There is also uncertainty 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 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 the issue as a serious one 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 Partners Up Front and in Midfield
Towards 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. Fernandes also set up four of the final five goals Casemiro scored for United from 1 February onwards.
Beyond goals, the absence of Sesko and Casemiro is clearly being felt. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, so his departure cannot fully explain United’s low running numbers. His positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard. Those qualities allowed Fernandes to take risks, because United were not likely to be overrun on the counter-attack 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 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 job instead, but he repeatedly dropped deep into the space Fernandes was occupying. 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 appears to be suffering. Against Tottenham at the weekend, it took him an incredible 23 minutes to complete a single pass.
Looking Ahead
On Monday, as he looked ahead to the Champions League meeting with Atletico, Carrick said no one 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.”