Manchester United suffered yet another defeat on Wednesday evening against FC Copenhagen, however, the Red Devils may have been hard done by with one of the goals they conceded.
FC Copenhagen 4-3 Man Utd
Erik ten Hag’s side travelled to Denmark in a crucial Champions League group game and things looked to be going to plan after Rasmus Hojlund struck twice early on in his native country.
However, Marcus Rashford was shown a straight red card in the first half, with Copenhagen managing to draw level before the interval. Despite the man advantage, Copenhagen didn’t go ahead and Bruno Fernandes put the Red Devils in front from the penalty spot.
It appeared as if United were on course to record a much-needed victory, however, Copenhagen netted twice late on to secure a dramatic win and leave Ten Hag’s side bottom of Group A. United now have two games left to turn their European fortunes around, with a trip to Galatasaray and a home clash against Bayern Munich remaining.
Possible VAR error in FC Copenhagen vs Man Utd
VAR was needed for a number of decisions throughout the game, however, one goal that wasn’t checked thoroughly was Copenhagen’s first scored by Mohamed Elyounoussi.
As reporter Alex Turk relayed on X, there appeared to be a Copenhagen attacker in front of Andre Onana when Elyounoussi took his shot that ended up in the back of the net to get the hosts back in the game.
“Difference in standards when decisions are for/against United – particularly among these UEFA referees – is borderline sickening. I don't know what the rules are anymore.”
Ten Hag also voiced his frustration at the decision to award the first goal, with Fabrizio Romano sharing the manager’s post-match comments.
“You can see that there’s a player in front of Onana in an offside position on Copenhagen first goal. Not only tonight. We have to deal with many decisions against us in other games.”
The Red Devils are arguably right to feel hard done by when it comes to this goal being allowed to stand, as we have seen earlier this week goals being disallowed for players allegedly obstructing the goalkeeper’s view.
In the Premier League on Monday evening for Tottenham’s match against Chelsea, Moises Caicedo scored from outside the box, only for the flag to go up and a VAR check confirming Nicolas Jackson was obstructing Guglielmo Vicario. That was from distance, so you could say that Vicario still had a good view and time to react, whereas Onana didn’t have much chance with Elyounoussi’s effort from close range.
Things didn’t go in United’s favour with a red card and a penalty being conceded alongside this controversial goal being awarded, but Ten Hag won’t be happy with his side conceding twice late on when they were minutes away from victory.