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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United suffered a shock loss this afternoon in a Europa League tie with Kazakhstani side FC Astana, who defeated the Red Devils 2-1 at the Astana Arena after falling behind in the first half.
The defeat likely won’t put any pressure on Solskjaer, whose side had already qualified for the knockout stages of the competition, as the Norwegian boss named a heavily inexperienced side with seven teenagers – including three debutants – in the starting XI. The match seemed like a good opportunity for Solskjaer to blood young talent, and despite the loss they will have learned a great deal.
United took the lead in the first half through the night’s captain and most experienced player, Jesse Lingard – who found the net for the first time since January. The Red Devils largely bossed the half, but after Tahith Chong missed an easy chance in the second half, Astana stunned the Premier League side with two quick goals, one from Dmitriy Shomko and the other an own goal from debutant Di’Shon Bernard.
The Red Devils had some chances to equalise, but Astana keeper Eric was equal to them all, and the game ended in defeat for Solskajer’s side.
Here are 3 reasons why Manchester United lost to FC Astana.
#1 United’s kids were too much flash, not enough substance in attack
It’s hard to really criticise such an inexperienced Manchester United side, as the majority of the young players selected by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer performed admirably on what was a tricky 4G pitch in freezing conditions. Midfielders James Garner and Dylan Levitt impressed with their passing range, while Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood also showed flashes of huge potential.
The problem for United, however, was that they simply didn’t produce enough gilt-edged chances. They dominated in possession – 66% to FC Astana’s 34% - and managed 20 attempts on goal, but it was telling that just 5 of them were on target.
Outside of Tahith Chong’s terrible miss and a pair of late chances from Greenwood and Gomes that were well saved by Eric, the Red Devils just didn’t create enough, with Chong, Gomes and Luke Shaw often running down blind alleys. These youngsters will definitely learn from their experience and probably end up better for it, but today they just didn’t produce enough of substance.
Also Read: Manchester United start with seven teenagers at Astana
#2 The lack of experience cost them in crisis
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to play so many youngsters – including three debutants, with another three appearing from the bench – was definitely admirable, as was his decision to leave his entire senior squad, outside of Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard, at home. The call may well prove to benefit the Red Devils when it comes to their Premier League match against Aston Villa this weekend.
However, it was also this decision that largely led to United’s defeat in Kazakhstan. United were on top for the majority of their match with FC Astana and on another day, would’ve won, but on too many occasions they were pieced by their less illustrious opponents at the back, and in a short spell in the second half Astana easily could’ve scored a third goal.
Also Read: 3 Manchester United players who have flopped so far this season
If this was a more competitive game – and not the dead rubber that it actually was – United simply would’ve needed a couple of experienced heads from the bench to help them out when Astana unexpectedly equalised. That wasn’t an option for Solskjaer here and so United lacked a calming influence who could’ve gotten them on the right track.
#3 Astana were pretty solid at counter-attacking
There isn’t much more to be said about this game; it’s arguable that FC Astana’s goalkeeper Eric was Man of the Match after his saves from Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood late in the second half allowed the Kazakhstani side to hold on for victory, but it’s probably fair to point out that they were pretty good on the counter too.
Astana had just 33% of the possession in this game and were pinned into their own half for long periods by their Premier League opponents, but when they did break forward, they definitely gave United’s defence some problems.
The fact that they were able to put together 16 shots – including 4 on target – tells its own story, and in all honesty they could’ve scored more had the likes of Roman Murtazayev and Runar Mar Sigurjonsson not missed good chances in the second half.
Admittedly, their winning goal had something of a fluke about it; Antonio Rukavina’s cross hit the body of Di’Shon Bernard and the youngster couldn’t do a lot about it before it wrong-footed Lee Grant and ended up in the net, but overall this was a decent smash-and-grab effort from FC Astana, who can be proud of their victory.
