"I felt annoyed," Fernandes said on Sky Sports after the match. "Everyone has their own routine before taking a penalty. But after bumping into the referee, I lost my composure a bit. I was annoyed because he didn't apologize, so I was agitated."

Fernandes added that it wasn't the reason he missed the penalty. "I missed because of poor contact with the ball," the Portuguese midfielder added. "I placed my foot too low, which caused the ball to fly over the bar."

Bruno Fernandes complains to the referee before missing Man Utd's penalty against Fulham at Craven Cottage, London, UK, Premier League round two, 24/8/2025. Photo: Reuters

In the 37th minute at Craven Cottage, referee Chris Kavanagh awarded Man Utd a penalty after several minutes of reviewing the incident off the pitch. While backing up to take the penalty, Fernandes was unexpectedly bumped into by Kavanagh.

The Portuguese midfielder was visibly annoyed, picked up the ball, and turned to the referee to say something. Kavanagh seemed preoccupied, telling other players not to enter the penalty area before the kick. After returning to Fernandes, he extended his hands sideways, seemingly indicating it was unintentional. The 30-year-old midfielder showed no signs of serious injury after the incident.

Fernandes took the penalty with a frustrated expression, hitting the ball hard but too high. This was the fifth time Fernandes has missed a penalty since joining Man Utd in 2020, alongside 38 successes. His last miss was against Chelsea in 12/2023. Fernandes' penalty success rate for the "Red Devils" is 88%, much higher than the average (78%-80%).

Fernandes' missed penalty against Fulham.

Former defender Gary Neville, while commentating live on the match, said the minor collision might have distracted Fernandes. However, not everyone agreed with Neville's assessment.

After the match, coach Ruben Amorim also defended Fernandes, but emphasized the impact of the missed kick. "Fernandes isn't used to missing penalties," the Portuguese coach said. "He understands that every moment can greatly affect the team. Fernandes didn't play very comfortably today because of the heavy burden of responsibility."

Despite Fernandes' miss, Man Utd took the lead in the 58th minute thanks to an own goal by Rodrigo Muniz. But in the 73rd minute, Emile Smith Rowe scored the equalizer for Fulham, making the final score 1-1.

The result means the "Red Devils" continue their difficult start, without a win after the first two rounds of the Premier League. In the next two matches, Man Utd must win to regain their spirit. They will face lower-league Grimsby Town in the second round of the League Cup on the evening of 27/8, before returning to Old Trafford to host Burnley in the third round of the Premier League on 30/8.

Compiled by Hoang An