Fulham defender Calvin Bassey has questioned the decision to name Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes as the player of the match following the two sides' FA Cup clash on Sunday.
The Portugal international was handed the accolade after his match-saving effort, 19 minutes from time. Fernandes expertly steered into the bottom corner from Diogo Dalot's cut-back to cancel out Bassey's first-half opener.
The Fulham defender was on hand to nod home as United's poor record defending set-pieces continued. Marco Silva's side went on to win the tie on penalties with Bernd Leno making himself the hero - denying Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee from the spot.
READ MORE: 'Great confidence' - Richard Masters talks Premier League damage over Man City charges
READ MORE: Erling Haaland gesture after Plymouth win speaks volumes for Man City star
Bassey quote-tweeted a post from the official FA Cup account on X which lauded the Nigerian international for his efforts at both ends of the pitch. The 25-year-old replied: "No man of the match [face with raised eyebrow emoji]."
Fernandes earned the player of the match award for yet another crucial contribution for United. His efforts caught the attention of co-commentator Alan Shearer, who lauded the United skipper.
"I'm going to give it to Bruno Fernandes," said Shearer. "He's the one that has delivered that one bit of quality, that one bit of class that got Manchester United back into this game.
"They were lacking in so many areas until then and that changed the game. He's put them in with a chance, albeit still a bit to go."
Fulham progressed and were handed a home tie against Crystal Palace after the draw was made at Old Trafford.
"I think we controlled the game," Fernandes told MUTV after full-time. "In one moment in the first half, we conceded a goal that we talked about during the week, that they do that from set-pieces. We should have been more aware of that, but I think we controlled the game in the first half very well.
"We had some chances in the second half even more and in extra-time, I think Fulham had better control but we had the better chances to end up scoring a goal but we didn't and their penalties were more efficient than ours.
"I helped the team to draw the game and try get back into the game to win it, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough, but we now look forward until the rest of the season and the main focus is on the next match, in a competition we want to go forward in and it's our goal to try get a trophy."
