Christian Eriksen (33, Manchester United) smiled brightly thanks to the referee.

Manchester United drew 1-1 against Arsenal in the 28th round of the 2024-2025 Premier League (PL) home match held at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, on the 10th (Korea time).

As a result, Manchester United remained in 14th place with 34 points (9 wins, 7 draws, 12 losses). Arsenal is in 2nd place with 55 points (15 wins, 10 draws, 3 losses). The gap with the league leader Liverpool (70 points) is 15 points, and with 10 matches remaining, it can be said that the title race is virtually over.

In a tight game, Manchester United scored the opening goal. In the added time of the first half, Bruno Fernandes found the net with a sharp right-footed shot over the defensive wall from a free-kick opportunity. For Arsenal, the judgment of goalkeeper David Raya was disappointing.

Arsenal equalized. In the 29th minute of the second half, Jurriën Timber provided a cutback pass from the right. Rice connected with a powerful right-footed shot, and the ball hit the post and went into the net. The game was back to square one.

No more goals were scored. Manchester United created several threatening chances, but Rasmus Højlund's poor judgment and Raya's spectacular saves prevented them from getting results. Arsenal was in a similar situation. Ultimately, both teams had to be satisfied with sharing one point each.

It's not a bad result for Manchester United. While it is disappointing not to win at home, they fought well against league 2nd place Arsenal. Moreover, Arsenal was in good form after defeating PSV Eindhoven 7-1 in their previous match.

Bruno's free-kick was crucial. He recorded not only a goal but also one chance creation and four successful long passes, excellently directing Manchester United's attack. Additionally, with this goal, Bruno achieved more than 25 attacking points for three consecutive seasons, tying with Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.

There was a hidden contributor to Bruno's goal. It was the referee Anthony Taylor, who officiated the match that day. According to the England Football Association (FA) guidelines, defenders must remain 10 yards away from the free-kick spot. However, during Bruno's free-kick, it appeared that Arsenal players were even further than 10 yards (about 9.1m) away.

In fact, according to 'Sky Sports,' Arsenal's defensive wall was positioned 11.2 yards (about 10.2m) away. Taylor set the distance incorrectly. The controversy arose particularly because Bruno's shot barely cleared the defensive wall.

After the match, Eriksen expressed gratitude to referee Taylor. According to 'Football London,' he joked in a broadcaster interview, 'It was very nice. I was happy because the defensive wall was about 15m (16.4 yards) away.'

Eriksen also noted, 'You could see how far the opponent was. It was an advantage for us. After the goal, I felt relief from the fans in the stadium,' and added, 'Looking at the chances we created, we could have won. We tried to counterattack as much as possible. That was the game plan.'

Meanwhile, referee Taylor set the defensive wall position more than 10 yards away in the second half as well. Of course, there was no exception when Manchester United was defending. The 'Mirror' reported, 'This incident became a major talking point at halftime. Manchester United players were annoyed when they were asked to retreat further in the defensive situation in the second half.'

[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (no unauthorized reproduction or redistribution), Sky Sports.

[OSEN = Ko Seong-hwan, reporter]