Bruno Fernandes in action for Manchester United. (Image: Getty.)
captain denied that his side were ‘let off the hook’ after a late VAR decision went their way and penalty appeal was overturned.
The hosts at Goodison Park were enraged when referee Andy Madley was called over to the pitchside monitor on recommendation from VAR, before for an alleged foul on Ashley Young.
Young claimed that he had been pulled back when trying to get on the end of a rebound, but a combination of and stopped the veteran winger in his tracks, albeit not enough for the official to stick with his original call.
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When asked by TNT Sport’s Jules Breach if United had been lucky that VAR sent Madley to the monitor, Fernandes replied: “No, no, the referee said that the arm was very close from the body so that is nothing to do with us.
“We had our chances in the second half but the problem is that we started too late. We didn’t win the first half, there wasn’t enough movement, we were too static and it was difficult to create in some situations.
“We did create in some one-twos and stuff like that, we need to start the games better, we know that, we spoke in the half-time that every time we concede a goal then we are down.
Ashley Young was felled by Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt. (Image: Getty)
“It is the only time when we start and we think now we can take a little more risk and pass forward, because we are in the situation where we need to win games and create chances to score goals.”
The Match Centre issued a statement to explain why the penalty was not given, stating: “VAR checked the referee’s call of penalty to Everton for a challenge by Maguire on Young and deemed that no foul had been committed and recommended an on-field review.
“The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with an indirect free-kick.”
Fernandes had pulled United back into the match after an absent first half, when Everton led through goals from Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The skipper’s free-kick caught wrong-footed, before Manuel Ugarte launched onto the ball on the edge of the box and rifled in an equaliser.
United thought that they had done enough to come away with a point, only for referee Madley to point to the spot when Young was felled.
However, upon conversing with the VAR, it was deemed insufficient contact to be described as a foul and United avoided losing a third consecutive league match.