Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves have explained the Manchester United errors which saw Erik ten Hag’s side go into the break 1-0 down against Omonia FC.
The Red Devils dominated the first half an hour against their Cypriot opponents. They created several good opportunities and Bruno Fernandes even hit the bar when lobbing the goalkeeper.
However, Manchester United failed to take the lead and they were given a shock when Omonia opened the scoring in the 34th minute. United had a free-kick but it was cleared and Jadon Sancho failed to recycle the chance.
Instead, he passed it back to Tyrell Malacia, United’s last man. The left-back had the ball stolen from him and Omonia broke at pace.
Bruno Felipe played in Karim Ansarifard and the latter did brilliantly to find the top corner with his finish, giving David de Gea no chance.
United couldn’t get level before the break and this saw them head down the tunnel 1-0 down.
During BT Sport’s half-time analysis, Scholes and Hargreaves criticised the United players.
Scholes said (06/10, at 18:40): “For 30 to 35 minutes it was the game we all expected, [Man Utd] keeping possession and creating chances. And then for the last 10 minutes of the half the Cypriot team took control and scored the goal.
Man Utd ‘made to pay’ – Paul Scholes
“United have been made to pay for missing a lot of really good chances.”
Fellow pundit Hargreaves added: “It makes it worse that it was United’s free-kick. Jadon really has got to find a way to get it in the box. He plays it back to Malacia and he gets caught. You can’t get caught there.
“It’s a good transition [and] a brilliant finish. [Christian] Eriksen is the only one who senses the danger. He’s the only one running back at speed. He gets back but he’s outnumbered.
“From your own set piece, that just can’t happen.”
Scholes added: “[Sancho] going backwards there is a big mistake. Leaving Malacia on his own, he gets caught in possession and you’ve got to give the Omonia lad credit, it’s a wonderful finish.”
Meanwhile, United will reportedly use Sancho as their inside man as they try to sign a Bundesliga player.
