Solskjaer comments on Ronaldo’s reaction to Manchester United penalty

It was a not a great display from Manchester United as they suffered their second straight defeat. Aston Villa scored late on to grab all three points at Old Trafford. But there was even more drama late on. The Red Devils were awarded a penalty late into stoppage time. There have been a lot of questions regarding who will take the spot kicks this season following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bruno Fernandes, who is normally one of the most reliable penalty takers in all of football, stepped up this time around and sent it well over the crossbar.

As a result, there will be further questions raised about Manchester United’s future penalty taker. Now, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has commented on the situation and it does not sound like the miss will have a significant impact on plans going forward.

As reported by ESPN, following the game, Solskjaer played down suggestions that Ronaldo had appeared unhappy with Fernandes taking the spot kick ahead of him:

"“This is going to be the headline.“Bruno has been excellent and Cristiano is probably the one who has scored the most penalties in world football.“It is just a missed opportunity to get a point. You will be making all these assumptions on the reactions of players. Bruno is such a good penalty taker and you would back him with your mortgage.”"

Who will take Manchester United’s penalties moving forward?

To be honest, one cannot say that the decision to give Fernandes the penalty over Ronaldo on the day was the wrong one. The Portuguese playmaker has been almost perfect from the spot ever since arriving at Old Trafford.

Yes, he missed on the day. But that is just football. Things happen sometimes that you would not expect. Ronaldo had also recently missed from the spot while playing for the Portugal national team.

What is a bigger worry though is the Red Devils’ form in recent times. They have lost back-to-back games now. And their record in all competitions this season has been mixed.

Manchester United have another tight game coming up next when they face Villarreal in the Champions League. It is a repeat of last season’s Europa League final and Solskjaer’s side will have a point to prove on the day.