Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville explained his theory for why Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty against Fulham.
United will play Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon in an attempt to recover from a defeat to Arsenal in their Premier League debut.
Following a tight half in which both teams had chances, United was given a penalty when Fulham defender Calvin Bassey’s awkward challenge inside the box was flagged by VAR.
United captain Fernandes had the chance to score his first goal of the season and put his team ahead of the game when Bassey and Mason Mount collided.
Neville believes he understands exactly why the Portuguese midfielder failed to keep the ball on goal and sent it way over the bar, shocking the supporters.
Fernandes has only missed four of his 22 penalty goals in the Premier League prior to the encounter against Fulham.
As a result, everyone in Craven Cottage was taken aback by his refusal to even face Bernd Leno. Neville even suggested that he might have been turned off after running into referee Chris Kavanagh.
“The referee giving him a slight nudge unnerved him a little bit,” Neville said in an interview with Sky Sports.
Fernandes hadn’t scored a penalty kick in the Premier League since the encounter against Chelsea in December 2023, which was before to Sunday’s miss.
“Enjoying some more unbiased Gary Neville commentary on the Manchester United game yet again,” one fan wrote on social media, demonstrating their refusal to accept Neville’s justification.
“Blaming the referee for Bruno Fernandes missing his penalty just normal stuff.”
Another said, “I can’t believe Gary Neville and sky are blaming the ref for Bruno Fernandes missing that penalty.”
Fortunately for Fernandes and United, it didn’t take them long to take the lead in the match after center defender Leny Yoro headed the ball into Rodrigo Muniz of Fulham, which resulted in an own goal.
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