Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty late on against Brentford, and the delay before he took it certainly did not help.
Mark Clattenburg did not hold back in his criticism of how long it took VAR to make a decision before Fernandes stepped up for the spot-kick.
“This is why people are falling out of love with football when it takes VAR nearly five minutes to make a decision,” he told United In Focus.
The incident started when Nathan Collins brought down Bryan Mbeumo, sparking a debate over whether the foul should have been judged as denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
In the end, Collins was shown only a yellow card, despite some feeling that he deserved red. After nearly five minutes of waiting for VAR to sort it all out, Fernandes stepped up but could not convert his penalty.
The midfielder might point to the long delay as an excuse, but in truth, his effort from the spot left plenty to be desired. It lacked conviction and was easily saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Bruno Fernandes misses another penalty
Fernandes reached a milestone with his 100th goal for Manchester United, but he has missed two penalties this season that could have added to that tally.
Both misses have been costly, too. He failed to convert against Brentford and Fulham, matches in which United came away with just one point combined.
He did manage to score from the spot against Burnley, securing three points in that match. Still, it leaves him with just a 33 per cent conversion rate from penalties this season.
Across his United career, Fernandes has converted 86 per cent of his penalties, scoring 39 and missing six. Two of those misses have come this season.
If you include only penalties taken outside of shootouts across his entire career, he is at an even more impressive 88 per cent.
Should United be concerned? Probably not just yet. It is early in the season and the sample size is small. But it does reflect some of the pressure Fernandes is under amid United’s inconsistent form under Ruben Amorim.
Benjamin Sesko is the best alternative
It is worth pointing out that if Fernandes decides he needs a break from spot-kick duties, or if he comes off during a match, United have another option with an impeccable record.
Benjamin Sesko, the new arrival at Old Trafford, has never missed a penalty in his career. He has converted all 11 of his attempts.
And just last season, six of those came for both club and country.
Sesko’s record explains why it was surprising to see him take so long to step up during the penalty shootout against Grimsby. It was explained afterwards that he was dealing with cramp, having just made his first start for the club, yet he still managed to convert his spot-kick.
While Fernandes is unlikely to hand over penalty duties anytime soon, questions are starting to surface about whether he will even be at the club beyond this season.
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