Bruno Fernandes has enjoyed a remarkable recent run, but his return this season has been markedly weaker, and Manchester United’s struggles have made the captain’s form a central question. The Portugal midfielder has three goals and one assist in six Premier League games, and United have collected just six points, their worst league start 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 in the Premier League last season, breaking a record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Over the final 11 games, of the 21 goals United scored, Fernandes 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 recalled Eric Cantona in the 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when he scored in six successive games, five of them when United only scored 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 resonance now, because compared with those exceptional figures, many of his numbers this season are far less impressive.
A stark contrast in the numbers
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games. His three goals and one assist all came in the second game of the campaign, against Ipswich, which remains his side’s only win so far.
Those figures are actually better than last term, when he scored twice in the opening six games and failed to create any. However, he was then playing in the deeper midfield role that head coach Ruben Amorim preferred.
This season, Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second highest total for shots, though his best was 3.5 in 2020-21. His average of 0.8 shots on target is joint-second lowest. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is also the second lowest of his time at Old Trafford and well down on the 4.0 he managed last season.
Even more startlingly, he has created just one ‘big chance’ so far this season, a lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo running clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Fernandes averaged one per game last season.
Taken together, these numbers go some way to explaining why United have struggled so badly. Yet the central question remains: is Fernandes a reason for the club’s malaise, or a symptom of it?
Fitness and the national team
There is also uncertainty over the playmaker’s fitness. Fernandes rarely misses a game, but he was left out of the recent Nations League encounter with Norway, when Portugal 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 the 4-0 win against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK in the Champions League.
United manager Michael Carrick does not view 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.”
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, while 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 as a United player from 1 February onwards.
It is clear that the presence of Sesko and Casemiro is being missed. Even Casemiro’s biggest admirers could not claim United’s current low running numbers are simply because the 34-year-old left for Inter Miami in the summer. However, his positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard, and they gave Fernandes the freedom to take risks, knowing 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 for which there is, as yet, no end date.
The club’s power brokers ignored calls to bring in more striking support in the summer and instead reinforced Carrick’s midfield. A plan to cover the Slovenian’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.
Carrick’s verdict
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 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.”