Soccer

Bruno Fernandes double helps Manchester United overcome more defensive mishaps

Premier League round-up: Mateta doubles up as Palace ease past Newcastle; Attwell at the heart of the action again in Bournemouth’s win at Wolves

Manchester United's Rasmus Højlund celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal during the Premier League match against Sheffield United at Old Trafford. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Wire

Wed Apr 24 2024 - 22:20
Manchester United 4 Sheffield United 2

Bruno Fernandes produced a captain’s performance to save Manchester United’s blushes against rock-bottom Sheffield United, scoring twice and providing another in a 4-2 comeback win for Erik ten Hag’s misfiring side.

Three days on from making torturous work of their FA Cup semi-final triumph against Championship side Coventry, the Red Devils toiled against another side that will be playing in the second tier next term.

Under-fire Ten Hag’s side twice had to come from behind against Chris Wilder’s doomed Blades before Fernandes’s double inspired the end of the hosts’ four-match winless run in the Premier League to move them up to sixth.

The hosts had started brightly enough, having 83 per cent possession and 11 attempts before Jayden Bogle capitalised on an Andre Onana error and opened the scoring in front of a stunned Stretford End.

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Harry Maguire quickly levelled against his former club, only for the Blades to go back ahead through Ben Brereton Diaz early in the second half.

Fernandes drew the hosts level from the spot as the Blades conceded a 90th goal of the season – the most ever in a 38-match Premier League season – and more were to follow.

United’s skipper fired home an 81st-minute rocket from 25 yards before setting up Rasmus Højlund to add a another four minutes later.

Crystal Palace 2 Newcastle 0

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored for a fifth consecutive home match to fire Crystal Palace to an impressive 2-0 win over Newcastle.

It was a deserved victory for Oliver Glasner’s team and continued their resurgence under the Austrian, with this a third Premier League success in a row after notable wins over West Ham and Liverpool.

Mateta broke the deadlock at Selhurst Park with a smart 55th-minute finish before he added a second late on to end Newcastle’s four-match unbeaten run and damage their prospects of securing European football for next season.

Wolves 0 Bournemouth 1

Referee Stuart Attwell was embroiled in further controversy after contentiously disallowing a Wolves goal in Bournemouth’s 1-0 win at Molineux.

Attwell was already in the spotlight for his role as VAR in denying Nottingham Forest three penalties in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton, which led Forest to insinuate bias as he supports relegation rivals Luton.

And controversy followed him around after he adjudged Matheus Cunha to have fouled Justin Kluivert in an off-the-ball incident in the build up to Hee Chan Hwang’s second-half equaliser, which looked to have cancelled out Antoine Semenyo’s opener.

It was not spotted in real time but Attwell opted to give the foul following advice from VAR Darren England to watch it again on the pitchside monitor.

Attwell remained in the thick of the action as he then showed a straight red card to Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez for a foul on Matt Doherty in a decision which survived another VAR check.

The controversy meant Semenyo’s first-half goal for the Cherries proved enough for a record-equalling sixth Premier League away win of the season.

They moved to within two points of registering their highest Premier League points tally, currently sitting on 45, one shy of their current record set in 2016/17.

For Wolves, this was a seventh game without a win in all competitions as they limped towards the finish line amid a chronic injury list.

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