Bruno Fernandes has explained how the referee “upset” him prior to his surprise penalty miss for Manchester United on Sunday.
After Calvin Bassey was given a VAR review for fouling Mason Mount inside the penalty area, United captain Fernandes had the ideal opportunity to score his first goal of the season against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
However, the Portugal international missed in the Premier League for the seventh time since joining United in 2020 after blazing his penalty kick over the bar and into the seats.
Gary Neville, a former United captain and Sky Sports commentator, said the “referee giving him a slight nudge unnerved him a little bit” after observing a moment with official Chris Kavanagh shortly prior to the errant goal.
When the whistle blew, Kavanagh ran into Fernandes, who was clearly irritated.
Fernandes was questioned about the incident and whether it had an impact on his preparation after the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw for United as Emile Smith Rowe’s goal negated an own goal by Rodrigo Muniz.
Although the former Sporting CP player expressed his displeasure with the referee’s lack of apology, he emphasized that he alone was responsible for his lack of effort.
“Yeah, I was upset,” Fernandes told Sky Sports.
“Obviously as a penalty taker, like everyone, you have your own routine. You have your own things that you do.
“It upset me because the referee didn’t apologise. And that was what triggered me in the moment.
“But that is no excuse for missing the penalty. I just took a bad hit of the ball, I put my foot too under the ball, and that’s why it ended up going over the bar.”
Fernandes has proved to be one of the most reliable penalty takers in the Premier League, scoring 22 times.
Ruben Amorim comments on Bruno Fernandes penalty miss
Before Sunday, his last miss came against Chelsea in December 2023. Asked if Fernandes felt Kavanagh was the reason for his miss, Ruben Amorim said: “No. I think he is not used to missing penalties. He knows the importance of every moment in this context, as it 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, and I think he felt that. His missed penalty was huge for us.”
United are back in action on Wednesday when they take on Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup second round, before a home game against Burnley on 30 August.
Leave a Reply