Fernandes misses penalty as Brentford beat Man United

Bruno Fernandes missed a second-half penalty as Manchester United lost 3-1 to Brentford in the Premier League.

United trailed by two goals when Fernandes stepped up in the 76th minute after Nathan Collins pulled Bryan Mbeumo back in the box.

But his low effort was saved by Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who has saved four (57%) of the seven penalties he has faced in his career for Liverpool and Brentford (apart from shootouts).

Earlier, Igor Thiago had scored twice to give Brentford control inside the first 20 minutes. The forward pounced on defensive lapses to put the hosts in front.

Benjamin Sesko responded for United, scoring his first goal since joining from RB Leipzig for £74m in the summer. His strike offered brief hope of a comeback.

That momentum could have been strengthened by Fernandes’ penalty, but after a five-minute delay involving a VAR review and Brentford substitutions, Kelleher made the crucial save.

Brentford sealed victory deep into stoppage time when Mathias Jensen drove in a shot from the edge of the area past Altay Bayindir.

The defeat means United have failed to win back-to-back league matches under manager Ruben Amorim, who has now been in charge for almost a year.

Micah Richards, speaking on Match of the Day, criticised United’s defensive structure under Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system. He said individual errors were being made worse by positional confusion.

For Brentford’s opener, Harry Maguire was left exposed as he attempted to play offside against Thiago, who ran clear to score. Minutes later, Bayindir’s parry from Kevin Schade’s cross fell straight to Thiago for his second.

United struggled to cope with Brentford’s wide play, as Luke Shaw and Matthijs de Ligt were dragged out of position by overlapping runs. The system again came under scrutiny as gaps repeatedly opened up.

The result extended United’s winless away run in the league to eight matches, their longest since 2019, leaving Amorim under more pressure to adjust his approach.

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