Bryan Cristante believes Manchester United’s penalty v Roma was too soft

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Serie A side Roma fell to another dramatic defeat in the Champions League – this time to Manchester United. The Giallorossi were 2-0 up in the first-half but a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a Mateus Cunha brace helped the Red Devils grab a memorable, comeback victory.

It was also Manchester United’s third win in all competitions, with their last one coming against Sabah in the Champions League.

Roma came into the game with a contrasting run of form but found themselves coming across a very familiar fate at Old Trafford.

But controversy surrounded the result and captain Bryan Cristante spoke to the press in the mixed zone about Manchester United’s penalty, which came as a result of Gianluca Mancini’s suppossed foul on Cunha.

The Italian said – via TMW: “Yes, I didn’t see it again, but from the pitch it certainly seemed very, very light to me, especially considering we’re playing in Europe, where contact is called much less often. It seemed very light to me. I’ll see it again later.”

The midfielder also noted that the atmosphere at Old Trafford also helped Manchester United, allowing them to take charge.

“They definitely recharged after the goal and started strong. So that certainly helped recharge the atmosphere.”

Contact definitely light

Even during the game, it was largely clear that Mancini, if he actually did, made very little contact with Cunha. If anything, angles also showed the Brazilian tripping himself over without having been touched by the Italian.

It should ideally be surprising that this hasn’t been talked enough. If this incident transpired against the English side, the general reaction in the media would have been far different.

Kaustubh Pandey – GIFN