Manchester United were humbled by Fulham at Old Trafford earlier this weekend, with the cottagers putting an end to the club’s four-game winning streak in the Premier League.
The visitors opened the scoring in the second half and it looked like they were going to secure a deserved 1-0 win but Harry Maguire scored the equaliser with 89 minutes on the clock.
Nine minutes of added time followed and United were desperately pushing for a winner, leaving them exposed at the back.
Fulham took advantage of that and scored a winner on the counter-attack in the dying embers of the game. Maguire, who was already on a booking, had the opportunity to take Adama Traore down and stop the break but decided not to.
Speaking after the game, the former Reds skipper has accepted that maybe he should have taken the red card for the team but admits that it’s easy to say in hindsight.
“I was on a booking myself,” the England star said, according to Football London. “In hindsight, maybe I should have just brought him down, but then you miss next week. It’s easy to say now.
“We can say we should have been more cautious, we were far too naive, we can look back and assess it in terms of areas we can improve on, but ultimately over 90 minutes, we didn’t do enough to win the game.
“I thought the reaction to going behind was really good. All the boys pushing, fighting, doing everything they can to get back into the game. We thoroughly deserved the equaliser.
“Then we went on and we pushed. We had all the pressure, all the momentum and the belief was there that we were going to go on and win the game. In the end, we’ve probably just thrown one too many bodies forward, left the middle of the pitch open and they’ve punished us with a clinical counter-attack.”
The defeat greatly stopped United in their tracks as they were finally building some momentum after a disastrous season.
Aston Villa have now extended their lead over United to eight points and sit comfortably in a top-four position, with United now running the risk of being left behind.
More must-reads: