I have no empirical evidence to support this, but doesn't it seem like, in general, refs have awarded far less penalties in the Prem so far this season? We've had 10 shouts over the season that we haven't been awarded, and Otamendi just got away with a blatant shove in the box that should've been a pen. It's kind of ironic given the emphasis on pushing/shoving in the box before the season, but it just seems insane on a weekly basis how many potential pens are waved off.

edit: Burnley take a well-deserved 1-0 lead on a cracker. Apparently there have been 42 pens awarded so far this season through 12 match days (3.5/wk), and last season had 91 total (2.4/wk), so I guess the math doesn't support my observation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that 'close calls' haven't overly favored defenders. It's probably just my subjective opinion, as United have been awarded ONE penalty for the entire season (and one against); City have been awarded 5 and had 2 against