09 March 2024 , 14:55
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Bruno Fernandes handed the ball to Marcus Rashford for Manchester United’s second penalty against Everton in a decision which will prove divisive.
United won two penalties in the first half at Old Trafford on Saturday as Alejandro Garnacho wreaked havoc. Fernandes claimed the first one after James Tarkowski’s trip and beat Jordan Pickford with a low side-footed effort, which saw him become the club’s all-time top scorer from the penalty spot.
But when Ben Godfrey dived in and clattered Garnacho minutes later, the United skipper did not collect the ball and step up once again. Instead, Fernandes handed over the ball to Rashford and, after a stuttered run-up, he whipped the ball into the corner to make it 2-0 before the break. The incident was initially missed on TNT Sports' live TV coverage but emerged shortly after the penalty was scored.
The decision could be viewed as showing strong team spirit and United went on to win the game fairly comfortably. But it is unlikely to have gone down well with former skipper Roy Keane, who was furious at Fernandes for letting Rashford take a penalty in their 3-0 win over Everton back in November.
After Erik ten Hag praised Fernandes’ decision, Keane let rip on Sky Sports, saying: "He’s giving toffee out there to Bruno for passing on the ball for the penalty. Absolute b***** rubbish. Absolute rubbish coming out with that. Manchester United are sixth now – if you went back a few years, if you were sixth you’d be embarrassed. But obviously they seem happy with sixth.They have a long way to go. Manchester United have to be competing with the best teams.”
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Three months on, United remain in sixth place and Keane’s opinion was backed up by former United striker Wayne Rooney, who was on punditry duty for TNT Sports on Saturday. Speaking about Rashford at half-time on TNT Sports, he said: “I think for me, I would’ve liked to have seen him stamp his authority down, tell Bruno Fernandes that he wants that first penalty. I know he takes the second one but I want to see him take that responsibility.
“As a goalscorer, you want every opportunity you can get your hands on to score goals. He did well, he’s a great penalty taker and Marcus should be saying to him he wants it. I know he’s the captain and you probably want to have that one penalty taker you can rely on but I just want to see Marcus score goals, maybe I’m a bit biassed!”
Bruno Fernandes buried his penalty, but still let Marcus Rashford take the second (Simon Stacpoole/Offside via Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! What did you make of Manchester United having two penalty takers? Comment below.
Garnacho explained the thinking behind Fernandes' call from on the pitch. He told TNT Sports: "Bruno is the captain, if he plays, he’ll always be on penalties but if he’s not, then we give them to Rashford. For him, it’s not a problem - we’re a family so there’s no worries there."
Asked if Fernandes gave Rashford the penalty because the team need to 'rally around' him, Ten Hag said: "No, he's good in the team. It shows the team spirit again. Bruno took the first but we have more very good penalty takers: Bruno, Rashy, Casemiro. So we have more. Also he did this at Everton, he gave it to Rashy - at that period he had a difficult time, but this time he's good. He's in the team, he has a good spirit and is a threat."
Fernandes has become a penalty specialist for United, scoring 17 in the Premier League since joining United in February 2020 – more than any other player in the division. The rarity of such an occurrence is shown by the fact that his decision to pass up one for Rashford saw United have two different penalty scorers in the first half of a Premier League match for the first time.
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