Copenhagen player who clashed with Bruno Fernandes says Man United captain ‘is a player who always complains and whines’, as footage emerges of his tunnel anguish after Champions League loss

Copenhagen striker Mohamed Elyounoussi has slammed Bruno Fernandes for his attempts to influence the referee in the 4-3 Danish Champions League win against Manchester United.

The former Southampton star was one of six goalscorers on the night in an enthralling match that featured goals, a send-off and two controversial penalties.

United came after the break to restore the lead after Copenhagen’s stunning first-half recovery from a two-goal deficit. The penalty was scored by Fernandes, who, according to Elyounoussi, has a habit of ‘whining’ at the referees.

The 29-year-old was seen chatting with the Portuguese midfielder as he tried to clarify the content of the match after the match.

“I think anyone who has seen United and seen him knows that he is a player who is always complaining and whining to the referees.” he said.

Fernandes is seen interacting with the referee after showing Marcus Rashford (right) a red card

Erik ten Hag’s team dropped to the bottom of the Champions League group with only two games left to play

‘I tried to get him away from the referee. I said, “It’s done.” It was nothing more than that. I don’t like players who go forward and try to influence the referees.’

Wednesday’s draw started on such a positive note for the away side as Rasmus Hojlund’s brace gave them a commanding 2-0 lead.

But Copenhagen found a route back into the match after Marcus Rashford’s dismissal for serious foul play and were back on level terms before the end of a long spell of stoppage time through Elyounoussi and Diogo Goncalves.

Despite the setback, United looked confident after the break and managed to take the lead again with a Fernandes penalty. But late efforts from Lukas Lerage and Roony Bardghji secured the win.

United’s loss leaves them bottom of the group after four games before the games against Galatasaray and Bayern Munich.

A dejected Fernandes was spotted with his head in his hands at the Parken Stadium. He admitted the mood in the dressing room was ‘not the best’ but defended their effort in defeat.

“It’s difficult at the moment,” he tells TNT Sports. “The mood is not the best because I think with ten men we fought so hard that even from then on it was against a team that plays very well on the ball, and as part of that a lot of decisions went against us .

Fernandes scored United’s third goal to restore their lead but was powerless to stop the Danish side from claiming a famous victory

‘Today was a tough day, but I think the team performance was good. We tried. We could have done a number of things better, but after half an hour we found it difficult to play with one player less.’

Ten Hag’s team faces a trip to Turkey next matchday five, knowing that another defeat will end their hopes of qualifying in the knockout round. However, victory in their last two matches should be enough to clinch a spot in the top two and Fernandes revealed that the belief in the camp to do just that is still there.

“Even before this match, that was still the belief: to win the last three games of the group stage,” he added. ‘And now we have to.

‘We have to win them. “If we want to stay in the Champions League and stay in the best competition, we have to beat the best.”