Andre Onana making a stellar penalty save to keep United in the game (X)
A point of discussion that has arisen now has been to do with the total time taken to review and allow Archer to take the penalty, which was clocked to be a whopping two and a half minutes.
After a tedious and tiresome tenure so far, a glimmer of hope and light arrived for Andre Onana, as the Manchester United keeper helped his side stay in the contest against Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, with a sensational penalty save.
After much talk around midfielder Casemiro and his performances so far, United boss Erik Ten Hag finally decided to drop the Brazilian, as Christian Eriksen took Casemiro’s place in the starting line-up with hopes that the Dane could help inspire United’s attackers.
Nothing of the sort seemed to happen in the beginning of their encounter at St. Mary’s as Southampton dominated the inital stretch with possession and pizazz. as debutante Tyler Dibling waltzed through the United ranks with ease to consistently challenge Onana.
All hell broke loose for United when Diogo Dalot lunged into a rash tackle right inside the box as Dibling fell down to win the Saints a penalty.
The referee called for a penalty instantly, but waited for confirmation from VAR to make the final call, as Southampton’s Cameron Archer stood inside the box patiently.
After a prolonged wait, the penalty was confirmed, but Archer would go on to fluff the golden opportunity, as his strike would inspire a dazzling dive from Onana, who would end up saving it, and the rebound off Archer’s head as well, keeping United in the game, level-pegging with the Saints.
A point of discussion that has arisen now has been to do with the total time taken to review and allow Archer to take the penalty, which was clocked to be a whopping two and a half minutes.
After the match, which Bretford eventually lost 0-3, Brentford fans took to social media lambasting the referees for the outrageous wait time, which some fans attribute to the miss, and the inevitable change of momentum that helped United seal the confident win.
#SOUMUN disgraceful refereeing yet again, putting a penalty taker under additional pressure by taking a ridiculous amount of time to allow it to take place, Stuart Atwell is not fit for purpose. #currupt— Old, Wise & Grumpy (@beverichUK) September 14, 2024
I’d say VAR is a homer, but it’s just Stuart Attwell and we all know he’s just incompetent #var #GERDAN #EURO2024— Chris Archer (@chrisarcher6) June 29, 2024
The triumph is a crucial one for ten Hag’s United, who had just the soliary win in the campaign ahead of their trip to St. Mary’s. United opened the season with a narrow win over Fulham, before slumping to back-to-back losses to Brighton and Liverpool in contrasting fashion.
