Man United boss blames Villa players for Bruno penalty disaster
There is no more prominent spot kick taker in recent seasons than Man United‘s Bruno Fernandes. But the Portuguese international was well wide of the mark when Ole Gunnar Solskjær needed him most this afternoon as the former Sporting Lisbon man missed his effort from 12-years and consigned United to a 1-0 home defeat against Aston Villa.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (centre) reacts after missing a late penalty kick during the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Saturday September 25, 2021. (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
Despite the addition of Cristiano Ronaldo to the United ranks, Fernandes has remained the first-choice taker, and according to Solskjær, Villa players are to blame for the midfielders woeful attempt in stoppage time.
“First of all, the way they get around the penalty spot, around Bruno and all that, that’s not to my liking, but I do understand it, it shouldn’t be that way.
Bruno is normally very good in those positions and unfortunately just missed this one. It doesn’t get into Bruno’s head, he’s strong mentally and he’ll step forward again.
Today you would back Bruno with your mortgage. What I didn’t like was the way they crowded the penalty spot. It clearly worked for them but that’s not great to see. They achieved what they wanted to.”
Anyone but us; Solskjær refuses to find fault in his own camp
Today is not the first time the former Norwegian international refused to find fault in his own ranks.
When previously talking about United’s apparent lack of awarded penalties this season, Solskjær chose to levy blame in the direction of Liverpool headmaster Jürgen Klopp and comments the German made last season.
Solskjaer has a theory on why Manchester United have not been getting penalties 🤔 pic.twitter.com/4CYl1FMJbu
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 24, 2021
In quotes via the Guardian, the Champions League winning forward claims said comments are the difference thus far in the 2021-22 Premier League campaign;
“We just have to hope we get what we deserve. We should have had three pens in the last two games. There was a certain manager last year who was starting to worry about us getting penalties and after that it seems like the decisions are more difficult to give [to us].
Surely I’ve seen a big, big difference since then on. But we just have to leave it up to the refs and hope that they will make the right calls very soon.”
If Solskjær is trying to do his best impression of former complainer-in-chief at Old Trafford José Mourinho, he is well on his way to perfecting his impressions.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | -3 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 5 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Brentford FC | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Watford FC | 5 | -2 | 6 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 5 | -3 | 6 |
| 13 | Arsenal FC | 5 | -7 | 6 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 5 | -3 | 5 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 5 | -7 | 2 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 5 | -6 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 5 | -12 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 5 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 0 | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 2 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Gudmundsson, Johann | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Rudiger, Antonio | Chelsea FC | 0 | 2 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 0 | 2 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 2 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 1 |
