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Manchester United suffered their fourth consecutive away defeat in the Premier League against Arsenal on 23 April despite Cristiano Ronaldo returning to the starting line-up. One of the reasons for United's loss was Bruno Fernandes' failure to convert a penalty when they were trailing 2-1 in the 57th minute.
Ronaldo looked lively and was crucial to Manchester United's chance creation as he released runners on the counter-attack by dropping deep on various occasions. The Red Devils started in poor fashion, with their defending resulting in Arsenal's goals as the Gunners commanded a 2-0 lead just half-an-hour into the game.
However, minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo beat Aaron Ramsdale with the deftest of touches to give his side a fighting chance and cut the lead to just one goal. The 37-year old could have added to his tally in the second half when Manchester United were gifted a chance to equalize with a spot kick.
Much to the surprise of most people, it was his Portuguese compatriot Bruno Fernandes who stepped up and took charge of the penalty. The decision proved to be a costly one as the attacking midfielder hit the post, despite sending the Arsenal goalkeeper the wrong way and Manchester United continued to trail by a goal.
Red Devils boss Ralf Rangnick has now explained the reason behind Cristiano Ronaldo not taking the crucial spot kick. The German was quoted as saying by 90 min:
"It's between both of them. Both are penalty takers and Cristiano said to me after the game that he didn't feel well enough in order to take it and that's why Bruno took it. In the end, it was about two or three yards a little further to the right but he sent the goalkeeper into the other corner but it only hit the post."
Notably, it was the second time that Fernandes took a penalty when Ronaldo was in the playing XI and missed. He failed to convert a stoppage-time penalty in a league game against Aston Villa in September 2021.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Premier League goal for Manchester United
The Portugal international's 34th minute strike landed him in the history books of the Old Trafford club as he became the fourth player to score 100 Premier League goals for them. He is only behind Wayne Rooney(183), Ryan Giggs(109) and Paul Scholes(107) in this regard.
Cristiano Ronaldo could have had his 101st goal for Manchester United as well if his fantastic finish in the second half was not ruled out for the tightest offside. The Portuguese masterfully watched the ball from over his shoulder and applied the finish while turning towards the goal.
Granit Xhaka's long-range screamer in the 70th minute settled the game for Arsenal in the second half and took the wind out of United's sails.
The result sees the Red Devils stay in sixth position, having played 34 games and amassed only 54 points. Arsenal are now six points clear of them and Tottenham Hotspur could also go six clear if they win against Brentford tonight. One could not help but think that Cristiano Ronaldo deserves better at this point.
