Brentford manager Keith Andrews believes his side were unfairly denied a penalty at a crucial moment in Saturday’s defeat to Manchester City.
Manchester City secured a seemingly comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford on Saturday afternoon, but the reality is that the game was a lot closer than the eventual scoreline suggests.
There were a few key incidents that could have swayed the contest in a different direction, with one potential DOGSO foul in the first half not given, and one Bernardo Silva swing of an arm that was only punished with a yellow rather than a red.
But perhaps the clearest error was at 1-0 in the second half, when Kevin Schade ran through on goal only to be tripped by Matheus Nunes in the penalty area.
Despite Schade’s foot clearly being clipped to trip him up, no penalty was shown, much to Brentford boss Keith Andrews’ dismay.
“There was a lot going on for the officials,” Andrews admitted. “I know I’m one of the first to always say ‘what a difficult job’, what they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. It’s difficult, with all the contentious issues, and at times, the playacting.
“[But] I thought Kevin Schade’s one in the second half was a penalty. I must say that. So that was really disappointing.”
The incident ended up proving pivotal, as just four minutes later Erling Haaland scored to wrap up the result, before Omar Marmoush added another in injury time to boost City’s goal difference.
Had a penalty been awarded, the referee likely would have had to send off Nunes as well, and if Brentford had converted the penalty it would have been a real task for City’s 10 men to find a win.
But with the referee waving the penalty away, the game ended just as City would have wanted it to.
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