Bruno Fernandes has produced a markedly quieter start to this season than the one that earned him a string of individual honours, and Manchester United have collected just six points from their opening six league games, their worst start to a league campaign in 40 years.
It is only seven weeks since Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House and spoke of his pride at being named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26. The 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, of the 21 goals United scored, he either found the net himself or created 12 of them. 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 a central figure in nine of the 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 the figures this season are far less impressive.
A quieter 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 in the second game of the campaign, a win against Ipswich, and that remains his side’s only victory so far.
The numbers are actually better than last term, when he scored twice in the opening six games and failed to create any. At that point, however, Fernandes was 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, although his best was 3.5 in 2020-21. 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 significantly down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Even more startlingly, he has created just one ‘big chance’ so far, the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Last season, Fernandes averaged one per game.
Those numbers help explain why United have struggled so badly. The bigger question is whether Fernandes is a cause of the malaise or a symptom of it.
Fitness and form
There is 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, with national team boss Jorge Jesus saying 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 Champions League win against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United 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.”
The missing partners
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. 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.
Beyond the goals, the absence of Sesko and Casemiro is clearly being felt. Even Casemiro’s biggest admirers could not argue that United’s current low running numbers are down to the 34-year-old leaving for Inter Miami in the summer, although his positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard. Fernandes could take risks in the knowledge that United would not be overrun on transition if he lost the ball.
As for Sesko, his fresh shin injury extends a lack of involvement that is being keenly felt, and there is, as yet, no end date for it.
The club’s power brokers ignored a clamour 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 was 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, and the pair never found an effective way of dealing with it.
For Fernandes, it 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, as he looked ahead to the Champions League meeting with Atletico, Carrick said that no-one was “guaranteed” a place in his team. He surrounded that comment with enough caveats to suggest that leaving out his captain is not in his thinking.
United must start to improve, and that means Fernandes must do the same.
“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.”
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