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Bruno Fernandes: Manchester United midfielder vows to 'come back stronger' after penalty miss vs Aston Villa

Kortney Hause's 88th-minute header put Villa in the lead but the defender's handball gifted United a chance to steal a point; Fernandes, who was United's top scorer last season, missed only his second spot-kick for the club as their unbeaten start to the league came to an end

Bruno Fernandes (Getty)
Image: Bruno Fernandes wasted the chance to equalise for Manchester United

Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has vowed to continue taking penalties after missing his stoppage-time spot kick in Saturday's 1-0 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa.

Kortney Hause's 88th-minute header put Villa in the lead but the defender's handball then gifted United a chance to steal a point.

However, Fernandes, who retained his penalty-taking duties despite Cristiano Ronaldo's presence on the pitch, blazed high over the bar to miss only his second of 23 spot kicks (in normal time) for the club.

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer complained after the match about the antics of Villa's players as Fernandes prepared to take the penalty, with goalkeeper Emi Martinez appearing to suggest that Ronaldo should have been stepping up.

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Aston Villa's win against Manchester United in the Premier League

"Nobody is more frustrated and disappointed than me for missing the penalty and the consequent defeat," Fernandes said on Instagram.

"I've always assumed my responsibilities and I've always embraced them under pressure in moments like this. Today, I failed. But I took a step forward and faced the challenge with the same ambition and responsibility as when, on the many other occasions, the ball ended up in the net.

"Criticism and contrasting opinions are a big part of football. I've learned to live with it, even using them to drive me on, and I consider it all a very important part of my commitment to never stop trying to improve.

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"Today I once again took the responsibility given to me almost since I joined United and I will take it again without any fear or dread whenever called upon.

"Thank you for all your support after the final whistle! Hearing you chanting my name in the stadium was very emotional.

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Was Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins in an offside position impeding David de Gea in the build up to Kortney Hause's winner against Man Utd?

"I will come back stronger for me, because these are the standards I hold myself to, but most of all for my teammates and our fans who have always supported us."

Ole: Bruno will step forward again

The shock defeat ended United's unbeaten start to their Premier League campaign and saw them drop to fourth in the standings on goal difference, with the top four sides all on 13 points.

Solskjaer wouldn't confirm whether Ronaldo, who has scored 139 of 167 penalties in his career, would take over spot-kick duties from Fernandes going forward.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Aston Villa's winner should have been called as offside by the officials as Manchester United fell to defeat at Old Trafford.

"First of all, what I didn't like was the way they crowded the referee and the penalty spot and Bruno and tried to affect him," Solskjaer said. "It clearly worked but that's not great to see.

"Sometimes it just doesn't go your way. Bruno is such a good penalty taker and today you would have backed him with your mortgage I would guess - unfortunately he just missed this one. But he is strong mentally and he'll step forward again.

"Bruno has been excellent and Cristiano is probably the one who has scored the most penalties in world football. We've got great takers and it's a missed opportunity for us to get a point."

Sherwood: Ronaldo presence got to Bruno

Sky Sports Soccer Saturday's Tim Sherwood suggested that the pressure of Ronaldo being on the pitch influenced the usually reliable Fernandes, who was United's top scorer last season with 28 goals in all competitions.

Sherwood also said that he considers the chances of Fernandes holding onto penalty taking duties to be minimal.

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Fernandes' penalty miss was caused by the pressure of Cristiano Ronaldo's presence, according to Tim Sherwood.

"I think they're very little," Sherwood said. "You don't miss that. You never see him blast it over the crossbar, he always waits for the goalkeeper to go down and rolls it into the other corner.

"It's the pressure now of someone else, the main man is here. One hundred per cent it's distorted his thinking there.

"He's got one chance, one chance only and we've just seen it go by."

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