Once again Bruno Fernandes was not able to score from the penalty spot. Manchester United’s captain missed a crucial penalty in their 3–1 defeat to Brentford on Saturday, thus casting yet more doubt about whether he will still the chosen one to take penalties for the club.
The Portuguese playmaker in the second half saw goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher stop his shot. Kelleher who guessed correctly to his left took the ball away from Fernandes with a gentle push. It is the sixth time that Fernandes has missed a penalty in the Premier League since he came in 2020. There has been no player who has missed more.
Just like that, Bruno’s newest failure has turned into one of the most crucial moments, with United behind 2–1 after Igor Thiago’s brace of goals in the first half. The moment of the shot was delayed as VAR was checking and Brentford substitutions were made. When Kelleher, who has only missed three times out of seven senior penalty situations, saved the day again, the waiting time was over.
Irrespective of the voice of the crowd, Fernandes used his unusual hop-step move and scored 13 of the 14 spot-kicks he took for the Red Devils at the start of the process, but he has not been able to keep up with that rate ever since. Just this season he has missed twice and it accounts for the same number of missed penalties as all other Premier League players put together have had.
Things are now at a point where the figures are pointing to the reality that a shake-up may be the way to go. Man United have great alternatives to Fernandes such as Benjamin Šeško who has scored all his 11 penalties and Mason Mount who from two penalties has never missed. Bryan Mbeumo who was the one who missed the penalty in United’s Carabao Shootout, is still one of the most reliable players in penalty situations as he has 11 penalties converted out of 12 in the regular time.
As Fernandes’s record with the drift, manager Ruben Amorim has to make the big decision whether he should continue with his captain or give the task to a new penalty king.
