As Manchester United lost to Leeds at home (1-2) earlier today, there were familiar patterns. A lethargic start, shoddy defending, an inability to get back into the game until there was a deemed injustice, the galvanisation once the deemed injustice—in this case, centre-back Lisandro Martinez getting a red card for violent conduct for caressing Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s man bun—occurred, a Casemiro header, and, of course, a Bruno Fernandes assist.
The Manchester United captain has been in incredible form in recent weeks—so good that he is now being spoken of as a player of the year contender. And, though he has made the occasional lapse in judgement, there is no doubt that United’s ‘Portuguese Magnifico’ has been peerless in the Premier League when it comes to his primary responsibility as playmaker.
Bruno Fernandes is taking the Premier League by storm this season with plenty of goals and assists 💥
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 19, 2026
How the @ManUtd midfielder is causing nightmares for defenders on the latest episode of The Breakdown 📺
As a result, Fernandes now sits on 17 assists, with six games remaining. This means he needs just four more to surpass the all-time single-season Premier League record of 20, jointly held by Thierry Henry (for Arsenal in 2002-03) and Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City; 2019-20). He has already beaten Sir David Beckham’s record of most assists by a United player in a season—15 in 1999-00.
His assist for Casemiro’s goal in the loss to Leeds took him level with Cesc Fabregas on 17 (Arsenal; 2007-08). Up next is the 18-assist tier occupied by four players: Mohamed Salah for Liverpool last season, De Bruyne (City; 2016-17), Fabregas (Chelsea; 2014-15) and Frank Lampard for the same team 10 years before that.
One player has 19—Mesut Ozil for Arsenal in 2015-16.
What makes Fernandes’s feat more remarkable is that his first assist didn't come until Matchweek 8—for a memorable Harry Maguire header against Liverpool. Including that match, Fernandes has averaged 0.77 assist per game. If that rate is sustained across the next six matches, he will reach at least 21—one more than the record.
There are other records in play too. His nine set-piece assists has him level with Chris Brunt in second place in all-time stats. So, Steven Gerrard's record of 11—set in 2013-14—is within reach.
Also, the assist for Casemiro was Fernandes’s sixth for the Brazilian this season—this is the most by a player for a single teammate this season. And, assist 16, for Matheus Cunha against Aston Villa in March, took Fernandes to 100 assists for United in all competitions, making him only the fourth player to reach that mark for the club, after Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Beckham.
The Premier League assist record has now stood for 23 years. Four more. Six games. History is there for the taking.
