Caoimhin Kelleher saves Bruno Fernandes penalty to heap pressure on Man Utd

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Lucy Ward, co-commentator for TNT Sport, has hinted that Brentford's head coach, Keith Andrews, may have intentionally made a double substitution ahead of Bruno Fernandes' penalty.

The spot-kick was awarded to Manchester United when Bryan Mbeumo was dragged down by Nathan Collins inside the box. Yet Caoimhin Kelleher, the former Liverpool goalkeeper who left during the summer transfer window, produced a brilliant save.

Ruben Amorim's players were applying pressure on the Bees to equalize after Igor Tudor netted twice in the first 20 minutes of the Premier League game at the Gtech Community Stadium. Benjamin Sesko reduced the gap with his debut goal for the club, and Matheus Cunha nearly brought the score level.

As the game neared its conclusion, United was granted a penalty when Collins pulled Mbeumo down inside Brentford's penalty area following an early cross from Cunha.

Referee Craig Pawson signalled for a penalty after a brief pause, while the video assistant referee reviewed the footage for a potential red card.

Collins avoided a sending off, and Fernandes failed to convert the penalty, marking his second missed spot-kick of the season.

Bruno Fernandes failed to beat Kelleher

Bruno Fernandes failed to beat Kelleher

However, due to the VAR check, the Portuguese player had to endure a near five-minute wait between the penalty being awarded and taken.

The home side's double substitution added to the delay.

Andrews brought on Keane Lewis-Potter and Rico Henry in place of Dango Outtarra and Aaron Hickey.

Fernandes took the penalty but was thwarted by Kelleher, who dived low to deny the United skipper.

During TNT Sports' coverage of the match in the capital, Ward suggested that the double substitution was a deliberate move.

"He (Keith Andrews) did that on purpose and he's got his reward for it," she alleged.

The result means United has just seven points from its first six Premier League games this season.

"We played Brentford's game all game," Amorim told Match of the Day at full-time.

"And when you see a game like that it is hard to describe. We never settled on our game and it is different to what we saw today.

"We knew they use long balls on transition, we worked on that. The second goal is the same. We score then miss a penalty.

'These crucial moments can change the game, we lived it against Fulham and we lived it here."

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