Man Utd Were the Premier League’s Shot Machine in 2025/26
3rd June 2026
Manchester United finished the 2025/26 Premier League season in third place with 71 points – a genuine title challenge for long stretches. But the stat that really defined their campaign? They were the league’s most prolific shooting team.
Most Shots in the Premier League
United topped the total shots chart with 596 across 38 games – that’s 15.7 shots per game. Man City were right behind on 594, with Liverpool on 589. But it was United who edged it, and they backed it up where it mattered: 216 shots on target, comfortably the most in the league.
City managed 205 shots on target, Arsenal had 187, and everyone else was well behind. United’s 216 on-target efforts means they averaged 5.7 shots on target per game – a relentless output that translated into 69 goals (third-highest in the division behind City’s 77 and Arsenal’s 71).
Bruno Fernandes: The Creative Engine
A lot of United’s attacking dominance ran through one player. Bruno Fernandes finished the season with 21 assists – nine clear of anyone else in the league. That’s not a typo. Rayan Cherki at City was second with 12. Bruno created nearly twice as many goals as the next best playmaker in English football.
He also led the league in key passes with 138 – nearly four per game across his 35 appearances. The next closest was Dominik Szoboszlai on 78. Bruno didn’t just lead these charts, he lapped the field.
On top of the creating, Fernandes took 85 shots himself (fourth-most in the league) and chipped in with 10 goals. He was the complete attacking midfielder package in 2025/26.
United’s Shooting Cast
Bruno wasn’t alone. Matheus Cunha took 90 shots (second-most of any player in the Premier League) and scored 10 goals. Bryan Mbeumo contributed 73 shots and 11 goals from 33 appearances. Benjamin Sesko added another 11 goals from 30 games off the bench and in rotation.
Casemiro, primarily a midfielder, weighed in with 10 goals of his own while also ranking 11th in the league for tackles (88). He wasn’t just breaking up play – he was finishing it off too.
How United Compared to the Top
Here’s how the top five teams stacked up across the key attacking metrics:
| Team | Pts | Goals | Shots | SOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 85 | 71 | 553 | 187 |
| Man City | 78 | 77 | 594 | 205 |
| Man Utd | 71 | 69 | 596 | 216 |
| Aston Villa | 65 | 56 | 483 | 170 |
| Liverpool | 60 | 63 | 589 | 175 |
United shot more than anyone and hit the target more than anyone, but City and Arsenal were more clinical. City scored 77 goals from fewer shots on target (205), while Arsenal won the league with 71 goals from just 187 SOT. Efficiency versus volume – the story of United’s season.
The Bruno Factor
It’s impossible to talk about United’s attacking output without circling back to Fernandes. His 21 assists and 138 key passes made him the standout creative player in the 2025/26 Premier League by a distance that’s almost embarrassing for the rest. At his best, he made United look like genuine title contenders. The question going into next season is whether they can add the clinical edge to match the volume.