Bruno Fernandes (£10.1m) helped Manchester United to a 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Here are our Scout Notes from Old Trafford.
ASSIST KING BRUNO
Bruno was the difference maker for Manchester United once more on Sunday, as the Portuguese playmaker banked his sixth (!) consecutive double-digit haul on home turf.
He’s now up to 10 overall, the most of any player:
Above: Players sorted by double-digit hauls (DD) in 2025/26
On Sunday, Bruno showed real quality in the final-third. The United captain was the provider for Casemiro (£5.7m) and Matheus Cunha’s (£8.0m) strikes, as he claimed his 15th and 16th assists of the season.
It could have been more, too, with his superb delivery for Diogo Dalot (£4.6m), who was back in the starting XI after being ousted by Noussair Mazraoui (£4.9m) last time out, volleyed over in the first half.
Bruno is now only four short of the all-time season assists record, with eight matches still to play.
“We’re delighted to have him. He’s proven over a period of time how impactful he is in the big moments. He’s there all the time, he puts himself forward in training and games. You can always count on him to be there. It’s a really good trait to have. He’s been through ups and downs here but it’s never knocked him. He was there today to make the difference.” – Michael Carrick on Bruno Fernandes
WHY BARKLEY GOT MAXIMUM BONUS
But somewhat surprisingly, Aston Villa’s Ross Barkley (£4.8m) went on to claim the maximum bonus, rather than Bruno.
His goal, plus a 90% pass completion rate and four successful tackles, amongst other things, helped him to a final Bonus Points System (BPS) score of 43.
It was three ahead of Bruno, who received minus BPS for being tackled (-4).
From our Members Area, we can see a breakdown of those BPS Plus tallies:
G = goals, A = assists, WG = winning goal, PC = pass completion, Rec = recoveries, CBI – clearances, blocks and interceptions, Tkl = successful tackles, BCC = big chances created, KP = key passes, Dri = successful dribbles, On = shots on target
ANOTHER CASEMIRO GOAL, SESKO IMPACT
Casemiro has started every match under Michael Carrick so far, and has been in really decent form in that time.
Superb in both boxes on Sunday, the Brazilian has now netted seven times in 2025/26.
Notably, Bruno has assisted five of those strikes.
“He’s got a really understanding with Case and working with Jonny [Evans] on set-plays and different things and spaces and whatnot. There’s a bit you can coach and a little bit of the players and the understanding with the players, they’ve got a great connection there with that and they’ve done it a few times before, so that was good.” – Michael Carrick Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro’s partnership
Casemiro is leaving Old Trafford in the summer, of course, but he’s doing his very best to ensure United qualify for the UEFA Champions League prior to his exit.
Carrick, meanwhile, chose to recall Amad Diallo (£6.2m) to the starting XI in Gameweek 30, in place of Benjamin Sesko (£7.3m), with Bryan Mbeumo (£8.7m) consequently moving up front.
That looked to be a sub-optimal approach in the first half, as no player was able to get on the end of some superb United deliveries.
However, Sesko replaced the ineffective Mbeumo at 74 minutes and made the game safe with a third goal shortly after, his fifth in his last seven league matches.
Mbeumo appeared to be limping upon his departure, although we haven’t yet spotted any mentions of an injury post-match.
VILLA POOR AGAIN
While Manchester United’s season is on the up, Aston Villa’s has stalled.
The return of John McGinn (£5.3m) was welcome at Old Trafford, but Unai Emery’s team still have issues in attack, and unless they improve quickly, they are at real risk of giving up their place in the top four.
Villa have managed just seven goals in their last 10 Premier League games, the fewest of any team.
It’s just two wins and nine points in that period, too.
Morgan Rogers (£7.5m) and Ollie Watkins’ (£8.5m) drop off has coincided with that downturn, with the latter failing to register a single shot at Old Trafford on Sunday, before he was hooked on the hour mark.
Villa are at least top of the ticker over the next six Gameweeks, with all of their opponents currently in the bottom half of the table.
Elsewhere, Matty Cash (£4.7m) missed out in Gameweek 30, having failed to recover from injury in time.
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