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Bruno Fernandes Surpasses Unwanted Premier League Landmark in Man Utd Humbling

Ruben Amorim could be forced into a tactical alteration following the setback against Brentford.

Grey Whitebloom

Bruno Fernandes missed another penalty on Saturday.
Bruno Fernandes missed another penalty on Saturday. / Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

For the second time this season, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes failed to convert from the penalty spot.

Thanks to a comfortable save from Brentford’s Caoimhín Kelleher on Saturday lunchtime, Fernandes has now spurned six Premier League spot kicks during his five-and-a-half years in the division. Over this same time period, no player in England’s top flight has missed more than five.

Fernandes’s tame effort came midway through the second half of United’s limp 3–1 defeat to Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. A clumsy tug from Nathan Collins on Bryan Mbeumo in the 71st minute presented the visitors with the chance to move level after Igor Thiago’s first-half brace. Almost five minutes elapsed before Fernandes was allowed to address the ball. The delay, a consequence of VAR and devilishly timed Brentford substitutions, evidently took its toll as Kelleher was able to rebuff an attempt low to his left-hand side.

The former Liverpool goalkeeper is a fearsome presence from 12 yards—Kelleher has saved an impressive four of the seven penalties he has faced in his senior career—but it represents a worrying pattern for Fernandes.

This season alone, the Portuguese playmaker has missed two spot kicks—as many as the rest of the Premier League combined.

Since Fernandes’s debut in the competition in February 2020, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has been wayward with a surprisingly high five attempts, a tally matched by former Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrović while West Ham United’s James Ward-Prowse, who is far more reliable from free kicks, has squandered four spot kicks.

Most Premier League Penalty Misses Since 2020

Player

Penalties Taken

Misses

Bruno Fernandes

29

6

Mohamed Salah

34

5

Aleksandar Mitrović

10

5

James Ward-Prowse

15

4

Correct as of Sept. 28, 2025.

Who Should be Man Utd’s Penalty Taker?

Man Utd
Bryan Mbeumo (left) and Matheus Cunha (right) could step up. / Kevin C. Cox - Premier League/Getty Images.

Fernandes had been one of the division’s most reliable takers upon his Old Trafford arrival, converting 13 of his first 14 in the competition with a deceptive hopping technique. However, he became a victim of his own success. “When you take so many penalties, then you need to change, because the goalkeepers start looking at you, studying you,” Fernandes mused earlier this year.

“I feel more comfortable doing the jump and waiting for the goalkeeper to make a decision. I think this is the more accurate one,” he explained. “But if I have to change it, I do it differently, to not give anything away to them.” The tweak has not worked. Now it may be time for Ruben Amorim to make a change of his own.

United’s squad boasts two players with perfect penalty records across their careers. Mason Mount netted both of his efforts for Chelsea while summer recruit Benjamin Šeško is yet to miss from 11 attempts. The towering striker was infamously the last outfield player to take a penalty during United’s shootout against Grimsby Town last month, yet that was due to him suffering from cramp, which he shook off to score nonetheless.

Mbeumo was the player who missed to confirm United’s humiliating Carabao Cup exit yet is usually so reliable from the spot. Stealing the secrets of Ivan Toney’s no-look technique at Brentford, the Cameroon international has missed just one of 12 penalties taken outside of shootouts.

Potential Man Utd Penalty Takers

Player

Career Penalty Record

Benjamin Šeško

100% (11/11)

Mason Mount

100% (2/2)

Bryan Mbeumo

91.7% (11/12)

Bruno Fernandes

88.6% (62/70)

Amad Diallo

87.5% (7/8)

Joshua Zirkzee

83.3% (5/6)

Matheus Cunha

77.8% (7/9)

Data via Transfermarkt. Correct as of Sept. 28, 2025.

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Grey Whitebloom
GREY WHITEBLOOM

Grey Whitebloom is a writer, reporter and editor for Sports Illustrated FC. Born and raised in London, he is an avid follower of German, Italian and Spanish top flight football.

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