Carrick and Fernandes Fume Over 'Crazy' Penalty Call as United Draw at Bournemouth, Though Redknapp Begs to Differ

A chaotic evening at the Vitality Stadium saw Manchester United emerge with a point from their 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on Friday, though they'll have departed the south coast nursing considerable frustration over refereeing decisions that ultimately shaped the contest.

The Red Devils found themselves down to ten men by the final whistle, yet Michael Carrick's side managed to salvage a draw that keeps them seven points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea, albeit having played an extra fixture.

Bruno Fernandes had opened the scoring from the penalty spot before an own goal by James Hill swung matters back in United's favour. Ryan Christie's crisp finish from distance briefly looked to have settled things, but Junior Kroupi's conversion of a second penalty levelled proceedings as the sides failed to find a winner.

The flashpoint came when Harry Maguire was dismissed for a challenge on an opposing player, conceding the penalty that brought Bournemouth level. Yet what truly riled the United camp was the earlier refusal to award a spot-kick for what Carrick and Fernandes deemed an identical challenge on Amad Diallo by Adrien Truffert.

"We should have had another penalty," Carrick told Sky Sports post-match, his frustration evident. "Obviously, if you get one, you must get the other. It's pretty much identical for me, two-hand grab. Either way, the ref got one wrong, but to give one and not give the other, I can't get my head around it. I think it's crazy. It's a bit baffling, really. Because of that, they score and then it's chaos after that, really. We should have had another penalty and the game would have been totally different."

Fernandes echoed the sentiment, questioning both the on-field decision and VAR's involvement. "We get a penalty against us where more or less it's the same situation as Amad," the Portuguese midfielder explained. "One is rewarded as a penalty, the other one not. I know it's difficult for the referee to give two penalties in the same game for the same team but what I don't understand is why VAR doesn't get involved in that situation. Either one is a penalty and the other one too or none of them is a penalty."

Not everyone shared their view, however. Pundit Jamie Redknapp felt the original incident with Truffert fell short of the threshold. "It would have been incredibly harsh," Redknapp said. "You can see Truffert is being aggressive with him. He does sort of manhandle him a bit, but I just don't think it's enough for it to be a penalty."

Despite the evening's drama, Carrick struck a measured tone when assessing his side's broader trajectory. While satisfied with recent progress and results, he stressed that complacency has no place in the dressing room.

"We're in a good place. We've put ourselves in this position through some good work, good results and good performances," Carrick reflected. "We could have had more tonight but it's not the end of the world. We've made some improvements. There are things we can improve on, and we can get a lot better. I'm happy with the way things have gone, but we're not satisfied. We definitely want more."