Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has explained the circumstances behind his penalty miss during their 1-1 draw with Fulham on matchday two of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
United travelled to west London to face Marco Silva’s side but came away with only a single point, continuing a difficult start to their campaign. Despite creating multiple opportunities in the opening half, the visitors failed to take the lead.
The breakthrough eventually came just before the hour mark, when defender Lenny Yoro’s header struck Rodrigo Muniz and found its way past Fulham’s goalkeeper. However, Emile Smith-Rowe equalised for the hosts, and the match closed with Harry Maguire glancing a late header narrowly wide.
Among the missed openings was Fernandes’ first-half penalty. In the 38th minute, the Portuguese international—who had successfully converted 11 consecutive Premier League penalties for United since 2023—fired over the crossbar.
Fernandes on the penalty incident
The midfielder revealed that an unexpected collision with referee Chris Kavanagh during his preparation disrupted his routine. Fernandes expressed frustration that no apology followed, admitting it unsettled him in the moment. “As a penalty-taker, you have your routines, the small things you do. I was upset because the referee didn’t apologise, and that threw me off,” he said.
Even so, Fernandes refused to hide behind the incident. He accepted personal responsibility for the poor strike: “That’s not the excuse. I hit the ball very badly. I got too far under it, which is why it went over.”
Looking ahead despite frustration
Speaking after the match, Fernandes also addressed the broader disappointment of not turning dominance into victory. “The match was there for us. We had opportunities to win, but then we conceded from a situation we had been controlling throughout,” he explained.
The skipper acknowledged the frustration of taking just one point from the first two fixtures but recognised that external criticism is inevitable at a club of United’s stature. “When you play for Manchester United, the noise is always there, for everything. You have to adapt to it, focus on what you can do to improve yourself and the team, and keep working to get results,” he said.
