Bruno Fernandes has been one of Manchester United’s most influential players in recent seasons, yet his form has dipped sharply at the start of this campaign, and the captain’s struggles are raising questions ahead of the Champions League meeting with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
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 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.
Fernandes scored nine goals and claimed 21 assists in the Premier League, breaking a record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Over the final 11 games of last season, he either scored or created 12 of the 21 goals United managed. 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 involved in nine of their 12 goals.
Statistically, it was remarkable and 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 quiet start to the season
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games. He has three goals and one assist, all coming in the second game of the campaign against Ipswich, which remains United’s only win so far.
His overall numbers are better than last term, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created none. However, he was playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred at that point.
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, at 2.5 per game, is his second-lowest at the club and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Even more striking, 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, his average was one per game.
These figures help explain why United have collected just six points from their opening six games, their worst league start in 40 years, when Ron Atkinson was sacked to make way for Sir Alex Ferguson. The key question is whether Fernandes is a cause of United’s malaise or a symptom of it.
Fitness and team selection
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 with Norway, when 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 the 4-0 Champions League win against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United manager Michael Carrick does not see it as a problem. “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.
The absence of Sesko and Casemiro is clearly being felt. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, but his positioning and game knowledge were of a high standard, and they allowed Fernandes to take risks in the knowledge that United would not 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, as yet, no return date.
The club ignored calls to bring in 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 before the opening game at Hull. Matheus Cunha was given the job instead, but he repeatedly dropped deep into the space Fernandes occupied, 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.
Carrick’s backing
Carrick said on Monday that no one was “guaranteed” a place in his team, but he put enough caveats around the comment to suggest that leaving out his captain is not in his thinking.
“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.”
United must improve, and that means Fernandes must improve too.