(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Sun 10 May 2026 9:00, UK

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Nilson Angulo was at the centre of attention as his Sunderland side played out a 0-0 draw with Manchester United on Saturday afternoon. 

The winger came off the bench for Regis Le Bris’ in the 79^th minute and found himself in the thick of the action almost immediately, after he led with his arm in a challenge on Bruno Fernandes. 

The 22-year-old appeared to catch the Manchester United captain with a forearm in the face as the Portuguese played the ball up the pitch, but he avoided a red card for the moment of madness.

Fernandes was left incensed by the Ecuadorian’s challenge, while his team were unable to find a late winner to extend their winning run to a fourth straight game.

Manchester United’s draw with Sunderland has left them six points clear of fourth-placed Liverpool, but they could still surrender their position to the Reds with a goal difference swing in the final two games. 

Ashley Williams: Nilson Angulo very lucky to avoid red card

Angulo could easily have forced his team to play the final few minutes with just 10 men on the pitch, but referee Stuart Attwell seemingly failed to recognise the potential severity of the incident.

The wideman escaped even a yellow card for his challenge, with Fernandes’ protests falling on deaf ears with the officials on the field. 

VAR referee Peter Bankes also saw no need to take a further look at the incident, leaving many people to question whether Angulo’s challenge constituted violent conduct.

That view was shared by Ashley Williams on Match of the Day on Saturday night, as he made it clear that Angulo was a “really lucky boy” to have stayed on the pitch.

“Very lucky, really lucky boy.

“I don’t know what he’s thinking here. That’s not a running action, he’s clearly tried to elbow him in the face. He’s caught him with his forearm, we’ve heard that because it was his forearm and not the elbow that it wasn’t enough for a red card.

“But it is a red card, that’s a naughty challenge. He’s very lucky not to have been sent off.”

Ex-Refs chief reacts to Nilson Angulo red card shout

Ex-FIFA referee and former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett told Football Insider on Saturday afternoon that he felt Angulo’s challenge was a “borderline” red card. 

He indicated that while the action from the Sunderland man was undoubtedly “reckless,” it perhaps lacked the excessive force to turn it into a definite sending off. 

Hackett suggested that Angulo still used his arm illegally against Fernandes, and added that it was a “minimum yellow card,” as he expressed his surprise that no punishment was dished out.

That surprise has been shared by many in the footballing world in the aftermath of the game, as Sunderland arguably should have been down to 10 men for the final stages of the game.