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Controversial penalty call leaves Manchester United shellshocked as referee ignores apparent foul on Matheus Cunha
Arsenal defeated Manchester United on Sunday, but the match also had controversy in the dying stages as the referee ignored an apparent foul.
The new Premier League season is finally underway, and the opening weekend had plenty of spice, drama and entertainment. Liverpool had to rely on two late goals to overcome Bournemouth, Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace, and then Arsenal managed to defeat Manchester United at Old Trafford.
At Old Trafford, Riccardo Calafiori took advantage of a mistake by stand-in goalkeeper Altay Bayandir to head home from a Declan Rice corner in the 13th minute.
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Huge controversy
There was also controversy towards the end as the referee made a controversial call on an apparent foul on Matheus Cunha. Many fans felt that William Saliba's tackle for the ball was totally missed, and he ended up tripping Cunha in the box. United made several appeals, but no penalty was given.
Speaking on Arsenal's goal, Amorim felt that Arsenal defender Saliba put off Bayandir. Saliba backed into the goalkeeper, which saw him flap at the ball and knock it across to Calafiori.
“I think it’s clear. Players are touching the goalkeeper without the idea of going for the ball. That is not allowed,” he said.
“It’s protecting the attacking guy and saying that we want (more) goals. But when you are touching the goalkeeper in that way, I think it’s hard.”
Explaining why Onana didn't start, he said, “I didn’t drop Onana from the squad, I didn’t drop one of the other two from the squad. So it’s not the case of dropping Onana, it’s not putting Andre Onana with just one week [of training], without seeing a game, without time with training. And like you say, guys, like Tom and Altay during the pre-season, they did a good job.”
“I think we prove today that we can win any game in the Premier League, especially against a great team like Arsenal and we were the better team. So I’m happy with the the players,” he added.
