Jose Mourinho has accused referee Mark Clattenburg of making a 'big mistake' in failing to award Manchester United at least one penalty in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to rivals Manchester City.
The Red Devils pulled a goal back through Zlatan Ibrahimovic after seeing Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho put City in command at Old Trafford in a dominant first-half display from the visitors.
United then had two penalty shouts turned down as they looked for an equaliser, as Claudio Bravo lunged in studs first on Wayne Rooney inside the box and Nicolas Otamendi used his upper body to cut out a cross from the right.
Speaking after the match, a frustrated Mourinho told Sky Sports News: "We were punished by Mark with his bad decisions in the second half. I know the rules of the game. It's obvious that it's a penalty and a red card for Bravo.
"If it's outside the box, it's a direct free kick and a red card. Inside the box it has to be the same. Even the best referees can make mistakes, and he made a big one. It's a big possibility of 2-2 with a long time to go, and we're talking about a completely different story.
"The second penalty is Otamendi's handball. Some of you will say it's not a penalty. I say 100 per cent. Otamendi tries to stop the cross in the face of the goal, but the cross comes behind him. He knows and he brings the second arm back. Clear penalty."
Defeat for United was their first of the campaign and also their first against City in the last four meetings.
Daniel Lewis
