Bruno Fernandes’s skyward penalty for Manchester United during Sunday’s 1–1 draw with Fulham was the fifth Premier League spot-kick he has missed for the club.
Since the Portuguese penalty taker arrived at Old Trafford in February 2020, no other player in the division has spurned more.
Much to his chagrin, Fernandes was unsettled in the buildup to his blazed effort at Craven Cottage. United’s skipper inadvertently trod on referee Chris Kavanagh while in the process of backing away from the ball. Fernandes still had time to reset himself but did not discover the composure required, drilling his effort high above Bernd Leno’s net.
This was hardly the first time Fernandes has erred from 12 yards. The experienced playmaker has missed five of his 27 spot kicks in English league football. Intriguingly, this is a tally Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah can match, together with former Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrović and West Ham United’s James Ward-Prowse, who has proven to be far more reliable from free kicks than penalties.
Fernandes’s overall penalty conversion rate in the Premier League stands at 81.5%. Of all players to have attempted at least 10 spot kicks over the last six years, United’s first-choice taker ranks 14th out of 18.
Fernandes Is Not One of the Premier League’s Most Reliable Penalty Takers
Bruno Fernandes skies the penalty. pic.twitter.com/zFHHhqaLax
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) August 24, 2025
Data from 2019–20 season onwards. Via FBref and correct as of Aug. 24, 2025.
United’s summer recruit Bryan Mbeumo boasts a far healthier 90.9% success rate, failing to convert just one of his 11 attempts for Brentford after learning Ivan Toney’s no-look routine.
When it comes to Fernandes’s approach, he has previously explained that a great deal of research goes into each attempt. “I always try to find the balance between what I feel more comfortable doing and what is the most difficult thing for the goalkeeper to save. So you have to find a balance between that and then take your chance,” he told United’s official website last year.
“I always talk with the goalkeepers’ coach about the way that the goalkeeper does [things] or how he saves it, how he’s [doing things] movement-wise and everything. And from the videos I see and the conversations I have with Craig [Mawson, goalkeeping coach], I always see what’s the best solution for me or the best way that I could take the penalty to get the best chance of scoring.”
Perhaps it’s time to tweak that technique.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bruno Fernandes Hits Unwanted Premier League Landmark for Man Utd.
