LONDON: Bruno Fernandes scored from a penalty courtesy a VAR review that helped Manchester United overcome Brighton 3-2 in the Premier League on Saturday.
The penalty was awarded after the final whistle had been blown as Manchester registered their first points of the season.
Harry Maguire’s header from a corner struck Maupay’s arm and to Brighton’s dismay, a penalty was awarded.
The Seagulls hit the woodwork five times and thought they had earned a deserved point when Solly March headed home to equalise in the 95th minute.
However, Neal Maupay’s handball was penalised by referee Chris Kavanagh after he had blown for full-time and Fernandes converted from the spot in the 100th minute.
Pre-season hopes that United could mount a title challenge to their biggest rivals Liverpool and Manchester City dissipated after a dire display in losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace last weekend.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes and got more of the same for the first 45 minutes as Brighton controlled the game.
VAR came to the rescue of both sides within the first 10 minutes of the second half.
United had already conceded a penalty in consecutive games for the first time in 11 years in the Premier League and thought they had given a away a second spot-kick of the match when Paul Pogba was penalised for pulling back Aaron Connolly.
Fernandes has never missed a top-flight penalty and stayed cool under the pressure to ensure Solskjaer’s men escaped with all three points.
