For digging up the penalty spot prior to FC Copenhagen’s thrilling miss with the penultimate kick of Tuesday’s Champions League match at Old Trafford, Alejandro Garnacho has come under fire. The last-second mistake by Jordan Larsson might have been caused by the Manchester United winger, who was seen scuffing up the spot by television cameras.
Harry Maguire’s header in the second half gave United a 1-0 victory over Copenhagen, but they were unimpressive once more.
However, in the final seconds, Italian referee Marco Guida penalized Scott McTominay for a high foot, and Erik ten Hag’s team saw their Group A lives flicker before their eyes.
Andre Onana’s heroics were necessary to keep United’s hopes of making it to the round of sixteen alive and to send the Old Trafford fans into raptures.
But after the game, video showed Garnacho taking his position at the penalty spot while the other players pressed Guida in reaction to the momentous call.
The 19-year-old nearly cost United the vital three points by missing two golden opportunities to score after substituting in for the last half of the game.
But at the opposite end of the field, it seemed as though he had a direct influence on the outcome, and former Premier League player Chris Sutton is not amused.
Garnacho last night before Copenhagen took the penalty. 🔴🤣 pic.twitter.com/gTIvMi9I3U
— Paul 𝕏 Manc Bald and Bred (@MufcWonItAll2) October 25, 2023
Sutton has demanded that Ten Hag openly denounce Garnacho’s behavior at his upcoming press conference, alleging that United supporters would be furious if they were the ones who suffered the consequences of the incident.
Imagine the scenario if it were the other way around. Additionally, Manchester United had to reenter the contest, Sutton said in an interview with the It’s All Coming Up podcast.
The Manchester United supporters would be indignant, I mean, wouldn’t they?
“I think Garnacho did a really, really bad job with that. I did, I swear to you. Unearthing the penalty spot is an entirely different matter.
Garnacho and Manchester United put up an extremely bad performance, in my opinion, and he ought to be criticized for it. I hope Erik ten Hag addresses this at his upcoming press conference.”
After losing two of their three games, United still has a lot of work ahead of them in Group A. They have two away games against tough opponents and a home match against Bayern Munich, the team that is soaring through the group stages.
To avoid a humiliating early exit, the Red Devils will probably need to defeat both Copenhagen and Galatasaray overseas.
And, given their present performance, it seems improbable, but they may look back on Garnacho’s dirty play in Tuesday’s victory as a turning point in their season.