[ad_1]
Bruno fernandes
Matthew Ashton – AMA / Getty Images
Bruno fernandes scored a penalty, awarded in a VAR review after the final whistle has sounded, as United manchester used their luck to record their first Premier League points of the season with a thrilling 3-2 win in Brighton on Saturday.
LIVE | Brighton v Manchester United
The Seagulls hit the wood five times and thought they had earned a deserved point when Solly March headed home to tie in the 95th minute.
However, Neal Maupay’s hand was penalized by referee Chris Kavanagh after he had flown for full time and Fernandes converted from the spot in the 100th minute.
Pre-season hopes that United could challenge their biggest rivals Liverpool and Manchester City for the title were dispelled after a terrible display of losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace last weekend.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer resisted the temptation to make bulk changes and got more of the same for the first 45 minutes while Brighton controlled the game.
Leandro Trossard hit both posts with shots from outside the box, while Adam Webster’s looping header returned from the crossbar.
It took United 33 minutes to put together a fluid movement involving all three forwards of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood, who found the net but the goal was ruled offside against Rashford.
VAR to the rescue
Brighton finally got his reward when the tireless Tariq Lamptey burst into the area from the right side and was cut off by Fernandes.
The United midfielder was lucky to escape a second yellow card, but Maupay made sure they paid the penalty with a cheeky chip in the center of the goal when David de Gea dived to his left.
The lead lasted just three minutes, however, as after a strong free-kick from Fernandes, Nemanja Matic returned the ball to goal and Lewis Dunk turned the ball into his own net.
The VAR came to the rescue of both sides in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
United had already conceded a penalty in consecutive games for the first time in 11 years in the Premier League and thought they had given away a second penalty of the match when Paul Pogba was penalized for throwing Aaron Connolly back.
However, Kavanagh overruled his initial decision when he saw a repeat of the incident.
At the other end, United’s three forwards were beginning to click as Rashford swept home a low cross from Greenwood, but this time the VAR failed against United with the scorer slightly offside.
There was no stopping Rashford moments later when he ran to Fernandes’ ball over the top and left Ben White dragging the ground before his deflected effort found the top corner.
Brighton’s bad luck continued as March became the next player to hit the wood as his low shot through De Gea soared from inside the far post before Trossard slammed into the bar with just the Spanish number one. to beat.
The Seagulls seemed to finally have their reward when March appeared on the back post to head home with Alireza Jahanbakash’s cross.
But in a chaotic ending, a Harry Maguire header from the corner hit Maupay in the arm and, to Brighton’s dismay, a penalty was awarded.
Fernandes has never missed a penalty in the top flight and remained calm under pressure to ensure Solskjaer’s men escaped with all three points.
