Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo are all outperforming Bruno Fernandes in front of goal

"Bruno Fernandes has been Manchester United's best player in 2025/26, but he is actually being outperformed by forwards Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo in one area. With 14 assists to his name this season, Bruno Fernandes is chasing the Premier League assist record currently held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry."

"As per Premier League statistics, Cunha, Sesko and Mbeumo have all outscored their current expected goals tally. Expected goals are calculated based on how many goals a player should score given the chances presented to them. While Cunha, Sesko and Mbeumo are all scoring at a higher rate than their xG suggests, interestingly, Fernandes is actually underperforming."

"Fernandes dominates chances created in the Premier League, and he has done ever since arriving at Old Trafford in 2020. This season, Fernandes has generated an 'expected assists' tally of 8.46 - more than any other player in the Premier League. However, he is hugely outperforming that figure with 14 assists to his name."

Bruno Fernandes has been Manchester United's standout performer in 2025/26 with 14 assists, pursuing the Premier League assist record held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry. His creative excellence has enabled summer signings Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, and Bryan Mbeumo to thrive in their debut seasons. Mbeumo leads with 10 goals, while Sesko and Cunha have nine and six respectively. Notably, all three forwards are outperforming their expected goals (xG) metrics. Conversely, Fernandes underperforms his xG with seven goals despite having the squad's highest xG of 9.11. However, Fernandes dramatically outperforms his expected assists of 8.46 with his 14 actual assists, dominating chance creation since arriving at Old Trafford in 2020.

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