Manchester United sealed third place in the Premier League with a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Luke Shaw put the Red Devils ahead after just five minutes, while Matheus Cunha scored in controversial fashion following a Bryan Mbeumo handball in the 55th minute, just two minutes after Forest had levelled through Morato.
Mbeumo scored a goal of his own in the 76th minute to restore Man Utd’s two-goal lead, finishing off a record-equalling Bruno Fernandes assist. However, Forest wouldn’t lie down and kept the pressure on with a Morgan Gibbs-White strike just two minutes later.
Bruno Fernandes makes history
It’s been an incredible season for Bruno Fernandes, who was recently named FWA Footballer of the Year ahead of the likes of Declan Rice and Erling Haaland.
And the Portuguese playmaker topped it off with a piece of history at Old Trafford on Sunday as he notched his 20th Premier League assist of the campaign, equalling the record held jointly by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Fernandes may have thought the moment would never come, with Mbeumo blazing over an effort he set up just after the hour mark, which was just one of a ridiculous eight chances created throughout the match.
However, his moment finally came in the 76th minute, when Mbeumo finally found his mark from close range to turn home another delicious delivery from Fernandes — ending his own long goal drought that dates back to early February.
The likes of Patrick Dorgu and Joshua Zirkzee fluffed considerable openings carved by Fernandes as the game wore on, and on another day, he’d have utterly eclipsed the assist record, let alone just equalled it.
However, the look of utter relief on Fernandes’ face when Mbeumo scored shows that for him, just joining Henry and KDB on the podium was good enough for Sunday afternoon. And it was fully deserved on an afternoon where he pulled the strings once again.
VAR controversy leaves Forest reeling
You don’t need us to tell you just how controversial VAR continues to be. It unfortunately dominates discussion week after week, and almost exclusively for negative reasons.
On Sunday, we may have seen one of the most egregious decisions yet.
Even Man Utd’s own players quickly stopped their celebrations after Cunha had put them 2-0 up early in the second half, with the Nottingham Forest players swarming referee Michael Salisbury, claiming a handball from Mbeumo in the build-up.
An on-field review was recommended by VAR, and replays clearly showed the ball bouncing off the hip of Mbeumo and onto his arm, in a motion that clearly helped him control the ball.
However, Salisbury decided to allow the goal to stand, announcing to the Old Trafford crowd: “After review, the decision of goal stands because the handball offence is accidental; therefore, the final decision is goal.”
Vitor Pereira and his players looked understandably incensed and baffled by the decision, given the ball simply wouldn’t have made it to Cunha in the way that it did, had Mbeumo not controlled it with his arm.
It was a baffling decision that cost Forest the match, and Gary Neville summed it up best in commentary.
“There will be nobody watching that game who plays football or who watches football who will think that goal should have been awarded,” he said. “It feels obvious to disallow. He almost wedged the ball under his arm.”
However, as the 2021 ruling inexplicably states: “Accidental handball that leads to a team-mate scoring a goal or having a goal-scoring opportunity will no longer be considered an offence.”
By the letter of the law, the correct decision. By the standards of common sense and fairness, a dreadful decision.
Casemiro given deserved send-off
While both sides had already achieved their goals heading into this game, it was played in a spirit that would easily make you mistake it for a six-pointer.
That may well be due to the extra poignancy from the Man Utd side, with this being Casemiro’s last game for the club at Old Trafford.
It’s been an up-and-down four years in England for the Brazilian legend, who has seen the Red Devils suffer the lows of FA Cup and Europa League final defeats and a 15th-place finish, but also the highs of winning an FA Cup and EFL Cup, and sealing a return to the Champions League this season.
Whatever the weather, Casemiro has always given absolutely everything to Man Utd, and that is why the fans have taken to him so strongly.
The 34-year-old has ended his Man Utd career in style, enjoying excellent form in the second half of the campaign. His 81 minutes on the pitch here embodied that, with Casemiro completing 48 passes at a 91% success rate and creating two chances, while making two tackles, two interceptions and one recovery.
Casemiro was given a deserved standing ovation by the Old Trafford crowd when Michael Carrick withdrew him late on. Now, the Red Devils must plot a way to replace his considerable presence in the engine room.