Bruno Fernandes: symptom or cause of Manchester United's worst start in 40 years?

Manchester United are living through their poorest start to a league season in forty years, with only six points taken from the opening six rounds of the Premier League. The team's drought has coincided with a drop in Bruno Fernandes' output: after being named the best player of the previous campaign, the Portuguese playmaker has seen his creative numbers slump. The question echoing around Old Trafford is a direct one: does the captain's downturn explain the collective struggles, or is it simply the inevitable consequence of an unbalanced side?

• United have recorded their worst league start in 40 years, with six points from a possible 18 and only one win.
• Bruno Fernandes has three goals and one assist this season, all of them against Ipswich on matchday two.
• His big chance creation has fallen from one per game last season to one in the whole current campaign.
• Manager Michael Carrick has ruled out dropping his captain for the Atletico Madrid clash and says he is over his fitness issues.
• The absences of Benjamin Sesko and Casemiro have limited the freedom Fernandes enjoyed last season.

The gap between last season's Fernandes and today's version

Just over seven weeks ago, Bruno Fernandes stood at the Manchester Opera House and collected the PFA Player of the Year award. The Portuguese had already won the Premier League and Football Writers' versions, a clean sweep of individual honours that underlined his role in United's unexpected third-place finish.

His numbers were remarkable: nine goals and twenty-one assists in the league, a tally of decisive passes that broke the record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Across the final eleven matchdays, of the twenty-one goals United scored, Fernandes either netted or assisted twelve. That run evoked Eric Cantona's influence during the 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when the Frenchman scored in six successive games, five of them ending 1-0.

A slow start in goals, shots and big chances

The captain has played every minute of United's six Premier League fixtures. He has three goals and one assist, all coming against Ipswich on the second weekend, the side's only win so far. The comparison with last term carries some caveats: at this stage then he had two goals and no assists, but he was operating in a deeper midfield role than he does now.

The decline is clearest in the volume and quality of chances he creates. Fernandes averages 3.3 shots per game, his second-highest figure since arriving at Old Trafford, but only 0.8 of them hit the target, his joint-lowest mark. Chance creation has dropped to 2.5 per match, well below the 4.0 he produced a year ago. The most striking number of all: he has created just one big chance all season, the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. Last season he averaged one per game.

Fitness concerns and Michael Carrick's reassuring message

Some uncertainty also surrounds the playmaker's physical condition. Although he rarely misses a match, he was left out of the Nations League meeting with Norway because, according to national team boss Jorge Jesus, he was playing through pain. Fernandes returned for the final two internationals of the break and had previously completed the full ninety minutes in the 4-0 win over Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK in the Champions League.

Carrick does not see it as an issue ahead of the meeting with Atletico Madrid. "He was carrying something but that happens a lot. 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 manager said.

Sesko and Casemiro: the partners who gave Fernandes his freedom

During the final stretch of last season, when Fernandes was at his most prolific, Benjamin Sesko regularly led the line while Casemiro anchored the midfield. Of the nine league goals Sesko scored in 2026, four came from Fernandes assists. The Portuguese also set up four of the last five goals Casemiro scored as a United player from 1 February onwards.

The Brazilian's summer move to Inter Miami and Sesko's shin injury have altered the environment in which Fernandes operated. With Casemiro on the pitch, the captain could take risks in the final third knowing the team would not be overrun in transition. Without Sesko, the attack has lost a clear focal point.

The failed Cunha experiment and the missing number nine

The club's decision-makers resisted calls to sign additional striking support in the summer and instead reinforced the midfield. The original plan was to use Mbeumo as a number nine until Sesko's return, but an ankle injury to Amad Diallo just before the league opener forced a rethink.

Matheus Cunha took on the central role, yet his habit of dropping deep carried him straight into the space Fernandes occupied, and the pair never found an effective way to share it. For the Portuguese, the situation feels restrictive and, while he is not short of confidence, his decision-making is suffering. Against Tottenham at the weekend, it took him an extraordinary twenty-three minutes to complete a pass.

What is at stake for Manchester United against Atletico Madrid

Carrick said on Monday that no player is "guaranteed" a place in his team, though his subsequent caveats made clear that dropping the captain is not part of his thinking. United must start improving, and that means Fernandes has to raise his level too. "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," the manager added.