Manchester United stars Antony and Bruno Fernandes were at the heart of an angry bust-up as the Red Devils spurned the chance to claim second spot in the Premier League against Crystal Palace.
Erik ten Hag ’s men travelled to Selhurst Park on Wednesday evening off the back nine consecutive victories in all competitions and looked to be closing in on a 10th after Fernandes had given his side the lead during the first-half. The Portuguese netted his second goal in as many games and it looked to have put United on track for a win.
However, Michael Olise stepped up late on to fire in a spectacular free-kick to see a share of the spoils. Ten Hag was left gobsmacked after seeing the equaliser, with the United players on the pitch also looking particularly downtrodden.
It was certainly a marked difference from an incident between two United players earlier in the clash. Following a dodgy pass from Brazilian winger Antony that went straight out of play for a goal kick, Fernandes appeared to have some choice words for his teammate.
The £85m summer signing then took exception to the criticism and verbally lashed out. He was spotted saying: “filha de puta”, which translates to English as “son of a b****”.
Follow a brief stare from Antony, things were very quickly smoothed over after the brief disagreement with the pair at the heart of celebrations after Fernandes had given United the lead. The playmaker, captain for the day, played for the full 90 minutes at Selhurst Park, whilst Antony was hauled off at the 70-minute mark for exciting youngster Alejandro Garnacho.
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Despite the disagreement, United fans appear to have been unfazed having claimed that it was actually a good sign. One Red Devils’ supporter said: “Just means they care. Don't make this a big deal because they wont.”
Another then claimed: “They probably call each other worse things in training every day. Two very fiery lads on the pitch. I wouldn't worry about it.”
“Two players who wear their heart on their sleeves on the pitch. Nothing unusual here,” a final United fan said.
Neither Fernandes nor Antony will have to wait too long to be back in action following the disappointing result at Selhurst Park. The Red Devils take on table-topping Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
United could cut the gap to the North London side to just five points with victory, whilst Mikel Arteta ’s men could potentially go up to 11 points clear with a win of their own.
Fernandes will look to be at the heart of things once more for the Red Devils and will be aiming to score in three consecutive league games for the first time in nearly two years.
