Is Bruno Fernandes’ form a symptom or a cause of Man Utd’s struggles?

Seven weeks after collecting the PFA Player of the Year award, Bruno Fernandes is struggling to produce the form that earned it. In six Premier League games this season, the Manchester United captain has three goals and one assist, and his side have collected just six points, their worst league start in 40 years.

Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House in August and spoke of his pride at winning the award for 2025-26. He had already claimed the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions of the honor, recognition of his central role in United’s unexpected third-place finish.

He scored nine goals and claimed 21 assists over the 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 remarkable. It recalled 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 Slow Start to the Season

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, a win against Ipswich, which remains United’s only league victory so far.

The numbers are better than last season’s, 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 his joint-second lowest. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is the second lowest of his time at Old Trafford and well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.

Most striking of all, he has created just one “big chance” so far this season, a lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defense on August 30. He averaged one per game last season.

Those figures help explain why United have struggled. But is Fernandes a cause of the malaise, or a symptom of it?

Fitness Concerns

There is also uncertainty over the Portugal playmaker’s fitness. Fernandes rarely misses a game, but he was left out of a recent Nations League match against Norway. National team boss Jorge Jesus said the former Sporting player 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 a 4-0 Champions League win against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.

United manager Michael Carrick does not see it as an issue as he prepares his side for 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 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 February 1 onward.

Beyond goals, the absence of Sesko and Casemiro is clearly being felt. Even Casemiro’s biggest admirers could not claim United’s current low running numbers are down to the 34-year-old’s departure for Inter Miami this summer. His positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard, and Fernandes could take risks because he trusted United would not be overrun on the transition if he lost the ball.

As for Sesko, a fresh shin injury extends a lack of involvement that is being keenly felt, with no return date yet set.

The club’s decision-makers ignored calls to bring in more striking support over 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 occupied, and the pair never found an effective way to deal 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 Atletico meeting, Carrick said no one was “guaranteed” a place in his team. He added enough caveats to suggest that leaving out his captain is not in his thinking.

United must improve, and that means Fernandes must improve too.

“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.”