Bruno Fernandes has made a far less emphatic start to 2026-27 than the one that earned him the PFA Player of the Year award just seven weeks ago. The Manchester United captain has three goals and one assist in six Premier League games, all of them coming against Ipswich, and United have collected only six points from those matches.
Only weeks earlier, Fernandes had stood in the Manchester Opera House and spoken of his pride at being named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26. 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, he either scored or created 12 of the 21 goals United managed. 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 a remarkable run. It brought to mind Eric Cantona in the 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 particular weight now, because this season’s figures are far less impressive.
A dip in the numbers
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games this season. The numbers are still better than last term, when he scored twice in the opening six games and failed to create a single goal.
Last season, however, Fernandes was playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred. The change in position has coincided with a drop in his output.
This season is Fernandes’ second-highest for shots, at an average of 3.3 per game. His best was 3.5 in 2020-21. His shots on target, though, are joint second-lowest of his time at Old Trafford, at an average of 0.8. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is also his second-lowest at the club and well down on the 4.0 he managed last season.
Most startling of all, he has created just one ‘big chance’ so far this season. That was the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Fernandes averaged one per game last season.
These figures help explain why United have made such a poor start. Six points from six games is their worst league start in 40 years, when Ron Atkinson was sacked to make way for Sir Alex Ferguson. The question now is whether Fernandes is a cause of United’s problems or a symptom of them.
Fitness and fitness doubts
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 extended break. Before that, he played the full 90 minutes in United’s 4-0 Champions League win over Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United manager Michael Carrick does not see the issue as a problem 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 on the pitch
Towards the end of last season, when Fernandes was at his most prolific, Benjamin Sesko was a regular in the number nine role. 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 goals, the absence of Sesko and Casemiro is clearly being felt. Even Casemiro’s most ardent admirers could not claim United’s current low running numbers are down to the 34-year-old leaving for Inter Miami in the summer. His positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard. Fernandes could take risks because he trusted 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 keenly felt, and there is, as yet, no end date for his return.
The club’s power brokers 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 just to complete a pass.
Carrick backs his captain
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 put enough caveats around that statement 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.”