Phil Jones has admitted that dropping points is becoming a common trend at Manchester United, and that the club need to get themselves back on track quickly.
The Red Devils have been flying in cup competitions but have struggled to put teams away in the Premier League, and endured yet another frustrating afternoon against Everton on Saturday.
A clumsy tackle from Marouane Fellaini in the last few minutes of the game – just two minutes after he was ironically brought on to try and see out the rest of the match – saw the Toffees awarded a penalty, which Leighton Baines duly dispatched past David de Gea.
The goal condemned United to their fourth consecutive draw in the Premier League, despite the club having a majority of the stats in their favour in each of those games.
Jones – who has made a big impression following his return from a long spell on the sidelines – has admitted that United’s failure to secure wins despite their brilliant performances has left him feeling “gutted.”
Speaking to MUTV following the 1-1 draw against Everton at Goodison Park, Jones said: “Everton play direct and make it difficult for you to defend but I thought we stood up to it and were resilient.
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"The home fans were getting frustrated until we gave the penalty away and drew the game. We are losing too many points now, it’s becoming a common trend, and we need to put that right quick.
“I can think of four or five games now where we have dominated but not managed to win. It's happened again and I'm gutted," the defender added.
Oddly enough, United are almost level with table-toppers Chelsea in terms of number of chances created, but the Old Trafford outfit have struggled to convert those chances into goals and have dropped crucial points as a result.
"We are playing well, we are moving the ball well and creating chances,” Jones added, speaking about Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s opener against the Toffees. “It was a great ball by Anthony [Martial] and Ibrahimovic did what he does best. It’s a great goal but it’s worthless in a game you draw when you should have won."
Mata left angry and helpless
Juan Mata also admitted that the draw at Goodison Park left a sour taste in the mouth of the United players, and left them feeling angry and helpless. Writing in his weekly blog, the Spaniard said: “Today we could extend that feeling of anger and regret after the draw at Goodison Park.
“We could just say that it was a pity and how helpless we feel when important points slip away at the end of games that you think you deserved to have won. It's been like that in the last few fixtures at Old Trafford and also yesterday. That was how we felt in the dressing room after the game against Everton," he concluded.
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