Michael Carrick looked frustrated after Manchester United drew at Bournemouth, insisting his team were denied what should have been a second match-winning penalty in a match that quickly descended into chaos.
United had a loud penalty call rejected in what Carrick believed was an identical situation to one that had already been awarded earlier in the game. “It’s a great opportunity to go 2-0 up and get a penalty and not the other one,” he said.
“It’s actually exactly the same thing: a two-handed grab. He got one wrong, so I don’t know which one, but he doesn’t give us the second one. I think they’re both penalties and it’s a huge moment in the game.
“It’s as obvious as it gets, you’ve already given one, so don’t give the other. It’s clear. If that’s what he thinks is a penalty to begin with, then it has to be the second. I don’t understand how you can’t give that. And then the goal and after that it was chaos.”
Maguire’s red card adds to United’s frustration
The sending off of Harry Maguire, which left United playing the final stages a man down, added more complaints to an already frustrating night, although Carrick was measured in his response when asked if the sending off had been harsh.
“Maybe it ended up being chaos at the time, so the decisions go in different ways. Ours should have been a penalty before, we would have had two penalties and then that wouldn’t have happened.”
“You have to give Bournemouth credit for the way they play, really energetic and positive, and they constantly test you. Being with ten men for so long and having to make changes, the lads who came off the bench finished the game very well. “Delighted with that, getting through the last few moments which could have been really difficult, but we got through it well.
“In the end, the way things were, you can lose those games, so to get a point we’ll get it, but we’re disappointed we didn’t get all three.”
Fernandes echoes the coach’s anger
Bruno Fernandes was equally scathing in his assessment of the refereeing, highlighting the decision not to sanction a foul against Amad as particularly difficult to accept.
“Not getting a penalty and then getting a penalty against the same situation as Amad, one is one, the other isn’t,” the United captain told Sky Sports. “I know it is difficult for the referee to award two penalties to the same team in a match, but I don’t understand why the VAR doesn’t get involved in that situation.”
Fernandes was also frustrated by what he saw as a broader pattern in how smaller players are treated. “Amad is getting to a point where he’s going to shoot and they push him, you can see something completely unbalances him. It’s frustrating for the small players because they always say that the small players are weak and when they are the bigger players they end up committing the fouls.”
Despite the frustration, Fernandes was quick to put the result in the context of the Champions League race. “first division It’s very hard and we have a lot of competition. Aston Villa is close to us and Liverpool and Chelsea too. Our objective is to continue adding points, we have to get away from them and the best way to do so is to continue adding points.”
He also reflected on what life with Michael Carrick has brought to the dressing room. “The last few weeks we have been positive with the result and that gives positive energy to the team to understand that we can go anywhere and get results. We have been in very good form with Michael and today we had to suffer and we got a point, we got something from that.”
