Bruno Fernandes claimed that referee Chris Kavanagh should have “apologised” after the Manchester United captain missed a penalty in his side’s 1-1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Ruben Amorim’s side took the lead when Leny Yoro’s second-half effort deflected in before Emile Smith Rowe equalised 93 seconds after coming on in the 73rd minute.
But earlier in the clash, Fernandes could have made United’s chances of victory significantly higher had he scored his spot kick, but was adamant his routine was thrown off when Kavanagh bumped into him just moments before his kick.
“I was upset,” said the Portugal international. “As a penalty taker, you have your own routine, your own things that you do. It upset me because the referee didn’t apologise.
“That is what triggered me at that moment, but that’s not the excuse for missing the penalty.
“I had a very bad hit on the ball. I put my foot too much under the ball and that’s why it ended up going over the bar.”
United haven’t won in their opening two Premier League matches this season after losing 1-0 to Arsenal on the first weekend of the campaign.
And Fernandes, like Amorim, have seemingly high standards after last season’s torrid 16th-placed finish.
“We cannot be satisfied with one point,” he said. “We came here to win the game. We were defending very well, but in one of them they got their goal.
“For us, it’s very disappointing to not win the game today.”
Amorim: We must forget about last season and move on
It certainly wasn’t the result Amorim wanted, despite the manager describing the clash as a “tough game”, but with their next two games coming against Grimsby Town in the cup and Burnley three days later, it seems likely that United can go into the September international break on a winning front.
Goalscoring is the main problem for Amorim right now after scoring just one in two matches, but the United boss is confident that last season’s struggles are not a problem this year.
“No,” he said when asked if he was concerned about the lack of goals coming from his team. “Forget about last season, I think the feeling is there. When we were playing the game and scored a goal, I didn’t feel that the team had more confidence now to face the game. We were more concerned about how we are winning, we need to hold onto the result.
“We are going to score goals because we are creating so many chances; that is the most important thing. We just have to move on.”