Seven weeks after collecting the PFA Player of the Year award, Bruno Fernandes is struggling to recapture his form, and Manchester United have collected just six points from their opening six Premier League games, their worst league start in 40 years.
The Manchester 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. He 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 last season, Fernandes 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 their 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. Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games. He has three goals and one assist, all coming against Ipswich in the second game of the campaign, which remains United’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 playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred at that point.
This season he 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, and his chance creation of 2.5 per game is the second lowest of his time at Old Trafford. He created 4.0 per game last season. Most startlingly, he has created just one “big chance” so far, the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo running clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. He averaged one per game last season.
These numbers, along with his general involvement, go some way to explaining why United have struggled. The question is whether Fernandes is a reason for United’s 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 encounter with Norway, as 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 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 see it as an issue 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 pieces
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 scored in 2026. He also set up four of the final five goals Casemiro scored as a United player from 1 February onwards.
The presence of Sesko and Casemiro is clearly being missed. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, but his positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard. That gave Fernandes the freedom to take risks, because United would not be overrun on the counterattack if he lost the ball. Even Casemiro’s biggest admirers could not claim that United’s low running stats are down to his departure alone.
As for Sesko, a fresh shin injury extends a lack of involvement that is being keenly felt, and there is no end date in sight.
The club’s power brokers ignored calls to bring in more striking support during 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 got 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 to complete a pass.
On Monday, as he looked ahead to the Atletico meeting, 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 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.”