Man Utd legend Peter Schmeichel insists Bruno Fernandes “needs to control himself” after giving away a penalty against Barcelona on Thursday night.

The Portugal international pulled down Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde in the box to give away a penalty with Robert Lewandowski converting the spot-kick to put the Catalan giants 1-0 up in the second leg of their Europa League play-off clash.

But a fine Man Utd revival saw Fred equalise after only 82 seconds of the second half before half-time substitute Antony sent home fans wild with a 73rd-minute strike to seal a 2-1 win on the night and a 4-3 victory on aggregate.

Fernandes has been brilliant for Man Utd in recent weeks but Schmeichel was not happy with his role is Barcelona’s goal on Thursday night,

Schmeichel said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “It looks like a penalty. It is so stupid to pull a man down inside the penalty area in a situation where Alejandro Balde is going away from goal.

“He’s pulled him down. That is just stupid. That’s a clear penalty. It’s just silly and unnecessary.

“Balde was going away from goal, he was going nowhere. Just let him go! The one thing you have to eradicate is these big games is mistakes.

“Bruno Fernandes is still arguing [with the referee]. He needs to get a grip and start concentrating.

“He played some sloppy passes and now has given a penalty away which was completely unnecessary. He owes the team and he needs to control himself.”

Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag thinks the win over Barcelona shows that the Red Devils can now beat anyone.

Ten Hag said: “It was a magnificent night. I think it is brilliant when you can beat Barcelona, eight points ahead of Real Madrid in LaLiga and we have seen in this week Real Madrid playing.

“We have the potential to beat the big teams, we have shown we can beat City, we can beat Arsenal, we can beat Liverpool. If we do the right things, if we follow the rules, if we follow principles and show discipline and team spirit, I think this team can achieve a lot.

“You need a strategy to build that but also you need results to get that strong belief. I think this is another step because when you can beat Barcelona – one of the best teams in this moment in Europe – your belief can be really strong because then I think you are able to beat anyone.”

READ MORE: The Glazers are going. Now the fight against Qatar for Man Utd’s soul must begin…