FC Midtjylland 2-1 Manchester United : 5 talking points
Manchester United’s disastrous season took a further turn for the slump, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Danish side Midtjylland in the first-leg of their Round of 32 tie in the Europa League. Memphis Depay put the visitors ahead in the 37th minute with a scrambled finish, before Pione Sisto equalised for the Danish champions on the stroke of half-time.The second half saw Jesse Lingard smash the crossbar with a volley, before 6’ 7” substitute Paul Onuachu won it for Midtjylland with a low strike past a diving Sergio Romero. We look at the 5 talking points which defined a night of Manchester misery in Denmark:
#1 Manchester United lack energy and desire
With 14 players out through injury or illness, Manchester United were forced to put out an under-strength squad against the Danish champions. Despite that, the fact that they were donning the Manchester United jersey meant that were expected to dominate proceedings at the MCH Arena with incisive passing and high pressing tactics.
Unfortunately, there was nothing of that sort on Thursday evening. There was no one dictating play from midfield, they were losing duels to their Danish counterparts and there appeared to be absolutely no desire to take control of the game. The quality of the final pass in the attacking third was simply non-existent from Louis van Gaal’s side. Poor mistakes at the back for both goals wasn’t helping United’s cause either.
Instead, it was the ‘underdogs’ who were almost unbelievably creating the better chances and troubling the United defence time and time again. Completely unexpected from a team who were expected to struggle for match fitness having not played a competitive fixture for 71 days before this one.
Another European night to forget for Manchester United.