Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel criticised Bruno Fernandes for a 'stupid' mistake and urged him to 'get a grip' after he conceded a penalty against Barcelona in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Erik ten Hag's side progressed to the last-16 of the Europa League with a 4-3 aggregate victory over Barcelona, with Fred and Antony on the scoresheet in the 2-1 second-leg win. The Reds welcomed Barcelona to Old Trafford with the tie perfectly poised at 2-2 after a pulsating clash at Camp Nou last week.
It was a nightmare start for the home side on Thursday night after Fernandes pulled down Alejandro Balde in the box to hand the Catalan club a spot kick in the 18th minute. Robert Lewandowski slotted home the penalty to put Barcelona 1-0 up at Old Trafford.
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Former United goalkeeper Schmeichel was extremely critical of the 28-year-old midfielder as he watched it unfold on BBC Radio 5 Live on Thursday night.
"It looks like a penalty," Schmeichel said after the incident. "It is so stupid to pull a man down inside the penalty area in a situation where Alejandro Balde is going away from goal. He’s pulled him down. That is just stupid. That’s a clear penalty. It’s just silly and unnecessary.
"Balde was going away from goal, he was going nowhere. Just let him go! The one thing you have to eradicate is these big games is mistakes. Bruno Fernandes is still arguing [with the referee]. He needs to get a grip and start concentrating.
"He played some sloppy passes and now has given a penalty away which was completely unnecessary. He owes the team and he needs to control himself."
Despite going a goal down in the second leg, United responded well in the second half and were worthy winners in the end. Ten Hag's side will now face Spanish side Real Betis in the Round of 16.
Although the two sides have not met in a competitive match before, they did clash in a friendly game during the World Cup. Betis secured a 1-0 victory on that occasion thanks to a goal from Nabil Fekir just after the interval.
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