It was definitely a disastrous night for the Red Devils when they opened their 2021/2022 Uefa Champions League campaign with a shock defeat to Young Boys.
United’s new talisman Cristiano Ronaldo had given the Old Trafford club a deserving lead in Switzerland, but a red card to Aaron Wan-Bissaka had led their host back into the game.
But some weird substitutions that saw Solskjaer withdrew Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes backfired as Young Boys had the opportunity to mount pressure on United which eventually produced two goals to end the match 2-1 in their favour.
Meanwhile, an error from a misplaced back pass by Jesse Lingard had allowed Jordan Siebatcheu to score an injury time winner for the underdogs and thus making United to return to England with no single point.
Though many had blamed the disappointing result on Wan-Bissaka’s red card, others have wasted no time to criticize Solskjaer’s tactical change.
But majority have rather chosen to lay the blame on Lingard’s misplaced back.
Lingard meanwhile, was left upset after his mistake and since expressed his disappointment with an emotional post on social media.
‘Last night hurt,’ the England international wrote. ‘Every time I pull on the shirt, I hope people understand what it means to me. I always go out wanting to do the best for the club, the team and the fans.
‘I’m upset for my part in the defeat. Mistakes happen in football but we pick ourselves up and go again.’
However, some United players have finally decided to express their view on Lingard’s costly error.
For Fernandes, it was a team loss: ‘We lose together and we win together.’
Diogo Dalot while commenting, also shared the same view with Fernandes: ‘Always with you. We win and lose together.’
And for Paul Pogba: ‘The true measure of success it’s how many time you can bounce back from failure… we strong, bro.
And with the Red Devils squad moving to improve the mood of their teammate, Captain Harry Maguire has expanded on the point after the defeat at the Wankdorf Stadium, saying: ‘That’s football.
‘People make mistakes – we’re not blaming Jesse [Lingard]. I’m sure everyone on that pitch today has made a mistake. I’m sure Jesse will pick himself up.
‘It’s the first game in the group. We’ve got many games to bounce back and we must do.
‘We’ll try and pick up three points in our next game and build momentum from there.
‘We started the second half well. I think the changes helped us defend crosses a lot better. We couldn’t really control the box with a back four.
‘They didn’t really have any major chances. It’s disappointing to take at the end.’
United meanwhile will be hoping to bounce back against Villareal at Old Trafford to boost their chances of qualifying from their group.