Manchester United conceded a penalty in stoppage-time against FC Copenhagen, but Andre Onana pulled off an important save to secure a clean sheet.
It was a superb stop to prevent Jordan Larsson from scoring right at the end and it means United have three points after as many games in the Champions League this season.
However, Alejandro Garnacho did his bit to stop Copenhagen from equalising with their spot kick.
Larsson’s strike struck the glove of Onana and the Cameroonian goalkeeper’s were quick to swarm him to celebrate a match-winning save.
Thanks to highlights of the penalty, viewers at home spotted Garnacho digging his heels into the turf surrounding the penalty spot.
Garnacho was seen scuffing the penalty spot right before Copenhagen's last second penalty miss 😅 pic.twitter.com/hm94jJ7NBp
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 24, 2023
The Copenhagen players were too busy pestering the referee to noice, but their captain Victor Claesson was not impressed when he found out about Garnacho’s actions at half-time.
Claesson told Bold.dk: “It’s unsportsmanlike. It’s not something I stand for or would do, but if he’s done it, he’s done it.”
He added: “I don’t think that was what decided whether he missed or scored.”
This all meant that Harry Maguire’s second-half header would end up being the match winner with Onana the late hero.
However, both managers — Erik ten Hag and Jacob Neestrup — told reporters that they did not see the incident.
There is nobody going to argue that this shows good sportsmanship, but people don’t always show that when they’re trying ton get one over United. I’ll take the win and all the tricks it took to achieve it.
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