Manchester United created chances galore, but failed to take them and were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
The visitors should have been out of sight within the first half, but the sublime Matheus Cunha failed to find the back of the net from three glorious chances.
To make matters worse, the ever-reliable Bruno Fernandes then skied his spot-kick after Mason Mount was fouled inside the box. This was the first spot-kick he has missed since the end of 2023.
The Red Devils did finally take the lead through an own goal, but Ruben Amorim’s baffling second-half substitutions meant their momentum eventually fizzled out and the hosts equalised soon after.
Referee did not apologise to Bruno Fernandes
After the game, the club captain was asked what went wrong with the penalty, to which he pointed to referee Chris Kavanagh for the miss.
After a lengthy VAR check, the referee eventually pointed to the spot. However, Kavanagh accidentally bumped into Bruno Fernandes just as the midfielder was walking back after placing the ball on the spot.
This seemed to completely ruin his momentum, and he eventually fired over. The 30-year-old explained that he has his routine for a penalty, and as a result of that bump, that went haywire.
“Yeah I was upset. [Like] every penalty taker, you have your own routine and things that you do. It upset me because the referee didn’t apologise and that was what triggered me in the moment,” he told Sky Sports.
However, the former Sporting CP star mentioned that the incident was no excuse and he simply struck the ball in the wrong area.
Bruno was not at his best after the miss
“That’s not the excuse to miss a penalty. I just had a very bad hit of the ball, I took my foot too under the ball and that’s why it went over the bar.”
The miss certainly messed with Fernandes’ mind, and he was sloppy for the rest of the game, something Amorim also spotted.
“He knows the importance that every moment in this context can have a huge impact on the team. And I felt that during the game, he was like, not so happy, not so involved, because he has so much responsibility. I think he felt that missed penalty, it was huge for us.”
Why Amorim did not sub him off despite having options on the bench remains a mystery. Hopefully, the team can return to winning ways in their next game against Grimsby Town in the second round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
Feature image Mike Hewitt via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
