Man Utd concede penalty for fourth Champions League game in a row and ref has TWO handballs to choose from

6 months ago 40

RECORD-BREAKING Manchester United conceded a penalty for the FOURTH Champions League match in a row.

And the referee had to decide between two handballs in Copenhagen.

Raphael Varane was not penalised for handball as the ball bounced off his thigh[/caption]

Harry Maguire struck it with his arm inside the area[/caption]

A close up reveals where contact was made[/caption]

The Red Devils were cruising in Denmark thanks to two Rasmus Hojlund goals inside 28 minutes.

However, after Marcus Rashford saw red, Mohamed Elyounoussi pulled one back for the Danish side in the Group A clash.

And then deep into 13 minutes of first-half injury time, United gave away yet another spot-kick.

A cross into the box from the right was flicked on by a Copenhagen forward before Diogo Goncalves got a boot to the ball.

That saw it deflect into sub defender Raphael Varane’s thigh and then up on to his hand.

Varane – who replaced the injured Jonny Evans – was not penalised because the ball ricocheted off another body part before striking his arm, thus not constituting a handball.

However, the ball immediately fell back to Goncalves’ feet and he flicked the ball up towards goal.

But Harry Maguire blocked it with his outstretched arm and the referee did not hesitate to point to the spot.

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Goncalves then rolled the penalty home to make it 2-2 in the 54th minute of a drama-filled first half.

Ironically, in the second half in Copenhagen, United won a controversial spot-kick thanks to another harsh handball – with Bruno Fernandes smashing the effort into the top corner.

However, the latest penalty conceded by United was their fourth in four games in the group stages this season.

Last time out, in the reverse tie against Copenhagen, Scott McTominay was penalised for a high boot in 95th minute – but was bailed out by Andre Onana’s heroic save.

Casemiro got sent off for sliding in on Dries Mertens of Galatasaray.

Mauro Icardid did put his strike wide of the post but moments later got the last laugh when he dinked over Onana.

And in the first game of the Champions League campaign, Christian Eriksen was on the end of a brutal handball call after a Dayot Upamecano header from point-blank range.

Harry Kane made no mistake from 12 yards as Bayern sealed a crazy 4-3 victory in Germany.

Unsurprisingly, it is the first time since Opta collected stats in 2003-04 that a team have conceded a penalty in their opening four matches of a Champions League campaign.

But both Leicester City in 2016-17 and Porto last season managed to give away spot-kicks in four consecutive matches in the competition.