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Rugby star Joe Marler has mocked Bruno Fernandes after the Portuguese missed a penalty in Manchester United's 1-0 loss against Aston Villa at the weekend.
Villa were 1-0 up in the Premier League clash but the Red Devils were awarded a penalty in injury time. Fernandes stepped up to take it but skied his effort, costing his side a point that could prove crucial at the end of the season.
Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, Joe Marler joked that Fernandes was trialing for rugby with his "ludicrous penalty." The 31-year-old also revealed his son is a huge Manchester United fan, and thus he wanted the Portuguese star to score against Aston Villa.
"What about Bruno Fernandes wanting to take up rugby instead of football with that ridiculous penalty? It's ludicrous mate! It's still going, it's still up there," Marler said. "How the hell has he put it that high above the bar? It's crazy. I'm saying that because I've got a seven-year-old who absolutely loves Manchester United and I just wanted to bag 'em."
Joe Marler wanted Cristiano Ronaldo to take the penalty instead of Bruno Fernandes for Manchester United
After Manchester United were awarded the penalty, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez tried his best to get into Bruno Fernandes's head and throw him off his game. Martinez could be seen pointing to Cristiano Ronaldo and questioning why he was not stepping up to take the penalty.
Joe Marler was full of praise for the Argentine, saying he loved the sledging tactics. However, the English prop was quick to point out that it should have been Ronaldo taking the penalty in the first place.
"He did a bit of sledging before with saying Ronaldo should take it, I love that, I've got a lot of time for that," Marler said. "I don't understand the people who say Bruno Fernandes has got a better penalty percentage than Ronaldo. Fernandes is at least a tenth of his age so he hasn't taken nearly as many penalties, just let Ronaldo take it so he can go 'ooohhhh [siiiuuuu].'"
Manchester United will face Villarreal in the Champions League on Wednesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be without the services of defenders Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.
