BEVERLY HILLS, February 15, (THEWILL) – The Manchester United pair of defender Harry Maguire and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were askance about West Brom’s opener in their 1-1 draw on Sunday and demanded to know why after an apparent foul was committed leading up to the goal the goal all counted.
The Red Devils dropped points again in a match that they were huge favourites to carter all three points. Once again, United were unable to make their dominance count. This makes it the fourth time in five Premier League games Solskjaer’s men will fail to grab the points on offer allowing their neighbours Manchester City create space at the top.
As usual this season, the Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes dug United out of trouble with his goal. That goal, on the stroke of half-time, took him to 38 goal involvements for the club in as many league games, a record bettered by only Andy Cole (46) in his first 38 Premier League matches.
The disappointment came when United failed to build on that. Instead, they found themselves struggling to break West Brom’s packed defence down. They found no way to add to their tally and Mbaye Diagne’s early goal therefore consigned them to another disappointing end.
However, United found cause to contest the hint of controversy around that West Brom goal. In the runoff to the goal, Diagne’s hand could be seen clearly striking Victor Lindelof in the face as he powered his way towards goal.
That the goal was still allowed to stand despite that was more than baffling to Maguire and Solskjaer. Speaking after the match, Maguire, who had a goal of a similar nature disallowed against Burnley, noted: “We created a lot of chances – enough to win the game.
“It was tough for ourselves with the goal we conceded – for us it was a foul. We played the game in their half. We can do more and improve but it’s disappointing. It was a tough job against a team that defends deep.”
Solskjaer alluded to that similar case against Maguire in his own post-match remarks: “I’m an ex-forward, so it’s not as if I’m going to say it’s a big foul against Victor, but why did Harry’s goal against Burnley – and I know I’m going back a bit here – [get disallowed] … Where’s the consistency here? There’s absolutely no consistency in any of these decisions.
“If Harry’s against Burnley is a foul, that is miles worse. As a striker you say well done, because if that had been taken away from me I would have been disappointed, so it’s just the consistency we’re looking for.”
THEWILL notes that this has become a regular complaint against the refereeing in this season’s English Premier League matches. There is a growing sense of inconsistency in the decisions given, from one match to the other and, sometimes, within the same match itself. This is one problem the introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was expected to solve, yet, it does not appear to have addressed it.
The disappointing draw put United second again but seven whole points adrift of League leaders Manchester City, who still have a game in hand and have been in spirited form since the turn of the year with their 11th straight win so far.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
