EURO TRASH
United crash out after defeat in Germany
HARRY MAGUIRE questioned Manchester United’s mentality as they crashed out of the Champions League last night in Germany.
United went three goals down against RB Leipzig and, despite scoring twice late on to set up a tense finish, were left counting the cost of defensive errors.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side needed a point to progress but were dumped into the Europa League after conceding twice in the opening 13 minutes.
‘It wasn’t good enough for the first 20 minutes, we weren’t at it,’ Maguire
admitted. ‘We had great belief, we came close at the end, but ultimately we have to stop giving goals away and falling behind.’ Asked about the manager’s decision to switch to three at the back, captain Maguire added: ‘I don’t want to look at excuses. There are 11 bodies out there who have to do the basics of football. ‘We started the game too slowly. We failed to deal with crosses and that is why we were beaten.’ Solskjaer also bemoaned defensive frailties but chose to reflect on the ultimately doomed comeback. ‘We didn’t perform as a team and that’s always the manager’s responsibility — to get everyone ready,’ he said. ‘We knew they’d come at us. Unfortunately we conceded two goals. We never got going. We didn’t turn up until they scored the second goal. ‘Maybe the referee should have done something for the second one with the push on Alex Telles. Maybe we need to be more streetwise. It was one-way traffic in the second half. They gave everything and showed very good character.’ It was the 10th time United have conceded the first goal in a match this season. ‘We need to address it even more,’ Solskjaer added. ‘We talked about how we needed to manage it, and we didn’t.’