Bruno Fernandes accepted that he made things harder for Manchester United with his sending-off in the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, but insisted it was "never a red card". (More Football News)
Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored the goals as the visitors cruised to a win at Old Trafford on Sunday.
But the turning point for the hosts was Fernandes' dismissal in the 42nd minute, as he slipped into a tackle on James Maddison, catching him high on the shin.
It is the first time in 242 appearances for United in all competitions that Fernandes has been shown a red card, while he became the fourth Red Devils captain to receive his marching orders at home in the Premier League.
After the game, Fernandes explained why he did not think the challenge deserved the punishment he was given by referee Chris Kavanagh.
"Part of slipping going in, I didn't go in with the studs, I take him with my ankle," Fernandes told Sky Sports.
"It's a clear foul but never a red card. Even Maddison when he gets up, you can see in the [replays], he said it's a foul but not a red card. In the eyes of everyone, you can see it's never a red card.
"If this is a red card, we have to look at every incident. I've never seen a red card come so quickly.
"If he wants to give me a yellow because it's a counter-attack, I agree, but I don't understand why the VAR doesn't call the referee to the screen, it's a poor decision."
Even before United went down to 10 men, they struggled against Spurs, who scored their first goal after three minutes.
Ange Postecoglou's side had 24 shots, hitting the target with 10 of those as they racked up an impressive 4.67 expected goals (xG). They also created nine big chances, the joint-most in a Premier League match on record.
Fernandes was quick to praise his team-mates though, accepting the blame for his role in the defeat.
"I left them with one man down. I appreciate it made everything tougher for them," he added.
"We didn't start the game well, obviously we had the situation with the red card. They did very well, they tried, we conceded two more goals, but it was difficult to cover the spaces.
"There's good things to take away, the resilience was there and I'm really proud of the team.
"Nobody likes to be sent off, it's not a good feeling seeing my team-mates running a lot to try and score – they tried everything."
