Neville calls out ‘terrible’ McTominay error in giving away penalty, as Bruno Fernandes reveals referee discussion
Scott McTominay was guilty of a lapse that looked “terrible” when conceding a penalty during the draw between Manchester United and Chelsea on Saturday, Gary Neville claimed.
Manchester United eventually earned a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, but looked to be heading for defeat after McTominay gave away a penalty within the last five minutes of the game.
The midfielder was penalised for having his arms around Armando Broja, who won the spot kick after going to ground.
Jorginho went on to score from the spot, although Manchester United would cancel it out via a Casemiro header in stoppage time.
Hence, McTominay’s error of judgement could have been more costly than it actually was. But looking back, it still seems like a mistake he will have to ensure he does not repeat.
During commentary, former Manchester United defender Neville explained how “clumsy” McTominay was in giving away the penalty.
“It’s clumsy from McTominay,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “There’s no doubt that at the end [Broja] throws himself to the ground but there is initial contact.
“It’s that left arm, then it’s the right arm. I think that’s the problem for McTominay. He may feel like he’s not brought Broja down but optically it looks terrible.
“He looked like he was hugging him and pulling him to the ground. There’s a way to stop people going across you. As soon as you put your arm or two arms on someone you’re in trouble.”
Fernandes gives team’s perspective of McTominay penalty incident
Despite Neville’s view, Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has revealed that he tried telling the referee that there was little difference between what McTominay did and what has happened in plenty of other matches without punishment.
“I said to the referee that in the Premier League this kind of contact is every game,” Fernandes told Sky Sports.
“I didn’t see it, I can’t say if it was right or not. Scott said he was not holding him. I don’t know.”
The replays did seem rather conclusive, though, that there was unnecessary contact from McTominay on Broja.
Hence, few will have breathed as big a sigh of relief at Casemiro’s equaliser than the Scotland international.
McTominay has played in 10 Premier League matches under Erik ten Hag so far this season. He has also enjoyed three outings in the Europa League, scoring once.
However, the summer signing of Casemiro may have put some more pressure on his place. McTominay was a late substitute against Chelsea, replacing another new face for the 2022-23 season, Christian Eriksen.
The club’s academy graduate will have to avoid errors like the one he went on to commit in order to win back a starting place.
