It is safe to say that Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes is enjoying a fantastic week. Fresh from lifting the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, the Portuguese maestro delivered a masterclass against Ipswich Town last Sunday in the 5-2 Premier League win.
Fernandes scored a hat-trick and picked up an assist to help the Red Devils secure a blistering comeback victory. That saw him win the club’s Player of the Match award, as well as the Premier League’s Player of the Matchweek award.
The 31 year old is also in the running for Premier League’s Player of the Month award for August. Should he triumph in that race, it will be his seventh win, equalling the current record held by Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane.
Bruno Fernandes Stats: 2025/26 Season
| Competition | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists | Yellow Cards | Red Cards | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 35 | 35 | 9 | 21 | 5 | - | 3,068' |
| FA Cup | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 90' |
| EFL Cup | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 45' |
| Total | 37 | 36 | 9 | 22 | 5 | - | 3,203' |
Source: Transfermarkt.
Fernandes registered a league-record 21 assists last season as United finished third, winning the Premier League Player of the Season and the FWA Player of the Year awards. The five-time Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year recently sat down with the club’s media to discuss an array of topics, including a viral moment from the Ipswich game.
Fernandes delighted with Ipswich hat-trick
Speaking on the Inside Carrington podcast, Fernandes expressed his delight at winning the PFA award and scoring another hat-trick at Old Trafford. He said: “It feels great.”
“Obviously in football you want to win trophies with your team, but individual accolades are always nice to have them even more when we talk about the PFA award that is voted by the players that play against you.”
“It’s a different feeling when you get it. And then wrapping all that with the win at Old Trafford, scoring three goals, I couldn’t ask for any better.”
The Portuguese has now scored three hat-tricks for United since joining in January 2020. Incidentally, Sunday’s trio of goals brought Fernandes level with Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie, who have also registered three hat-tricks for the Red Devils.
That Tielemans run-up
Bruno also took the time to discuss a viral video of Youri Tielemans mimicking his run-up for the penalty kick against Ipswich Town. The Belgian has since revealed his reasoning behind the move, stating that he wanted to be the quickest to enter the penalty box.
Reflecting on the incident, Fernandes said: “I kind of think that it’s like to get on the rebound, you know like, so he doesn’t get inside the box before I kick the ball.”
“But I think it is so difficult for him to do that run-up because with the jump then he loses, he loses his… Because he doesn’t have the ball to kick then, you know? But it’s quite a smart thing to do, because obviously then you’re gonna be on the run into the box when people are like standing still and then have to accelerate.”
“But in the game I didn’t even notice! After that he was the first to get on me to celebrate the goal so that it made some sense that he got there so quick.”
Final Thoughts
Tielemans, who arrived at Old Trafford this summer from Aston Villa, has already displayed signs of a budding partnership with Fernandes. Fans will hope that that the duo will be on song when United travel to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, 6 August, to face Everton in the Premier League.
Featured image by Naomi Baker/Getty Images
