Seven weeks ago Bruno Fernandes stood on a stage in Manchester and collected the PFA Player of the Year award. Today Manchester United sit on six points from six Premier League games, their worst start to a league season in 40 years, and their captain is at the centre of the question of why.
BBC Sport's Manchester United reporter put it plainly: is Fernandes a reason for the malaise, or a symptom of it?
From record-breaker to quiet figure
Last season was remarkable. Fernandes scored nine goals and made 21 assists, breaking a Premier League record shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Over the final 11 games he scored or created 12 of United's 21 goals. He was named Player of the Year by the PFA, the Football Writers and the Premier League.
This season he has played every minute of the six league games. He has three goals and one assist, and all of that came against Ipswich on 30 August, United's only win so far. The raw totals are not far off last year's, but the detail underneath is thinner. He is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second highest, yet only 0.8 on target. Chance creation has dropped to 2.5 per game from 4.0, and he has created one big chance all season.
The gaps around him
Context matters here. Last spring Benjamin Sesko led the line and Casemiro anchored midfield, and Fernandes fed both. Four of Sesko's nine league goals in 2026 came from him, and he set up four of Casemiro's last five goals for the club. Casemiro has since left for Inter Miami, and Sesko's new shin injury has no end date.
The plan to cover for the striker by using Bryan Mbeumo up front fell apart when Amad Diallo hurt his ankle before the opening game at Hull. Matheus Cunha was handed the job and kept dropping into the space Fernandes likes to use. Against Tottenham at the weekend it took Fernandes 23 minutes just to complete a pass. His decision-making, the reporter suggests, looks affected.
Carrick's reaction and the Atletico test
There is also a fitness question. Portugal boss Jorge Jesus left him out of the Nations League tie against Norway, saying he was "playing through pain". Fernandes returned for the last two internationals, and Michael Carrick says it is not a worry. "He was carrying something but that happens a lot," Carrick said. "He is pretty much over it."
Carrick said no one was "guaranteed" a place in the side ahead of Tuesday's Champions League game against Atletico Madrid, though he surrounded the comment with enough caveats to make clear the captain is not about to be dropped. "He's a top player, Bruno," he said. If United are going to recover, Fernandes has to do so first.
Player context: Bruno Fernandes, 31, Manchester United captain. 111 goals in 335 appearances for the club. This season: three goals and one assist in six Premier League games, all against Ipswich. United have six points from six games. Source: BBC Sport.
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