Manchester United were left frustrated after being held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham at Craven Cottage, with Bruno Fernandes’ first-half penalty miss becoming the talking point of the match.
The Portuguese midfielder had the chance to put United ahead in the 38th minute when Mason Mount was brought down inside the box and VAR awarded a penalty. Stepping up confidently, Fernandes prepared for his trademark spot-kick but suffered an unusual interruption. Just as he lined up to strike, he collided slightly with referee Chris Kavanagh, forcing him to reset his routine. The delay appeared to unsettle him, and his attempt flew high over Bernd Leno’s crossbar.
After the game, Fernandes addressed the incident, making it clear that the referee was not to blame for the miss. He admitted that while the delay irritated him, the responsibility lay solely with his execution. “I struck the ball very badly and got too much underneath it, so it went over. It had nothing to do with the referee. That was on me,” Fernandes explained.
Despite creating chances through Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, United struggled to make their dominance count. They eventually broke the deadlock in the 58th minute when Leny Yoro’s header deflected in off Rodrigo Muniz. However, Fulham hit back in the 73rd minute, substitute Emile Smith Rowe flicking in Alex Iwobi’s cross to secure a share of the points.
United pushed late on, with Harry Maguire and Joachim Andersen both going close, but Fulham held firm for their second successive 1-1 draw after their late equaliser against Brighton the previous week.
Speaking after the game, Fernandes emphasized the need for his side to be more ruthless in controlling matches once they go ahead. “We can’t be satisfied with a point. We came to win and had the game in our hands, but let them back into it. We need to manage moments better,” he noted.
On a positive note, Fernandes praised United’s new arrivals Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Šeško highlighting their quality and potential impact. He expressed excitement about how the squad is shaping up and believes there is more to come from the trio as the season progresses.
United will now look to regroup quickly as they continue their search for a first win of the Premier League campaign.
