Manchester United overcame a brutal red card given to Marcus Rashford as they lead FC Copenhagen 3-2 in a thrilling Champions League clash.
Rashford was given his marching orders in the 42nd minute after his left foot caught the ankle of Copenhagen left back Elias Jelert.
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The challenge went unpunished at the time despite Jelert requiring medical attention, but the referee was instructed by VAR to have another look at the incident on the pitchside monitor.
It appeared rewatching the incident in slow motion was enough to convince the referee to change his mind as Rashford was issued with a red card.
The decision to send Rashford off left many baffled, with The Independent’s Miguel Delaney describing it as “ludicrously harsh.”
Premier League legends Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher were also stunned at Rashford’s red card.
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United, who had taken a two-goal advantage thanks to Rasmus Hojlund’s double in the opening 30 minutes, soon found their lead had evaporated.
It took just three minutes for Copenhagen to get on the scoresheet after Rashford was sent off thanks to Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Copenhagen then found the equaliser in the fourth minute of stoppage time after they were awarded a penalty when Harry Maguire was found guilty of handling the ball inside the box.
Diogo Goncalves stepped up and sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the spot, levelling the contest at 2-2.
Despite being down a man, United managed to re-take the lead thanks to Bruno Fernandes as the visitors were given a penalty when midfielder Lukas Lergaer was called for a handball in the box.
The Portuguese star made no mistake and buried his penalty to make it 3-2.
FULL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS
Real Sociedad 3-1 Benfica
Napoli 1-1 Union Berlin
FC Copenhagen v Manchester United
RB Salzburg v Inter Milan
Bayern Munich v Galatasaray
Arsenal v Sevilla
PSV v RC Lens
Real Madrid v Braga
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