KEEPIN’ IT FRANK BRUNO
Spot miss won’t put Fernandes off
BRUNO FERNANDES vowed he will have no fear taking another spot-kick despite his late penalty miss seeing Manchester United beaten again.
The Portuguese, who had scored 21 of his 22 penalties for United, blazed the ball over in the 90th minute as Aston Villa pulled off a shock. But on Instagram, Fernandes said: “Nobody is more frustrated and disappointed than me for missing the penalty and the consequent defeat. “I’ve always assumed my responsibilities and I’ve always embraced them under pressure in moments like this. Today, I failed. “But I took a step forward and faced the challenge with the same ambition and responsibility as when, on the many other occasions, the ball ended up in the net. I will take it again without any fear or dread whenever called upon.” A third defeat in four and a second in a row at home, amplified the scrutiny on United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and emboldened those who believe he is out of his depth in the United job. Aston Villa deservedly left Old Trafford with the
MAN UTD ............ 0 ASTON VILLA .... 1
points as the Norwegian unconvincingly claimed Kortney Hause’s 88th-minute winner should have been ruled out for offside, then blamed Villa players for crowding around Fernandes prior to his penalty miss.
But he has faith his players will bounce back against Euro bogey team Villarreal even though he could be missing the suspended Aaron Wan-Bissaka and injury doubts Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire from his back four for the Champions League clash.
He said: “I know these players, I know they will fight to put this right. We have a Champions League game this week and we’ll be fired up and be on the front foot looking to win.”
But while it was doom and gloom around United, John McGinn reckons Villa proved they have a bright future.
The Scotland midfielder said: “I thought it was going to be typical at the end, but thankfully he put it over the bar.
“It was huge for us to set a marker down for this season. We’re missing a couple of big players as well, so it’s a huge, huge result.
“They’ve got some of the best players in the world. We’ve got players who are hungry to be that and trying to get to that level.”