Questionable Tactics, Careless Play At Heart Of Man United's Champions League Loss To Young Boys

Dubious in-game management is once again at the heart of Manchester United’s disastrous Champions League opener against Young Boys in Bern, Switzerland.

Red Devils fans have been fuming at how things turned out for them in what was supposed to be a winnable matchup against the Young Boys.

It seemed as if Cristiano Ronaldo’s opening goal at the 13th minute was a sign of more goals to come for the Old Trafford side.

Disaster struck Manchester United soon after as Aaron Wan-Bissaka was given a straight red card after a terrible challenge at the 35th minute.

With ten men left on the field and instead of putting the pressure on Young Boys, Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer inexplicably switched to a five-man defensive line to compensate for Wan-Bissaka’s loss.

The Young Boys were able to blindside Raphael Varane when Moumi Ngamaleu scored the equalizer at the 66th minute.

A careless back pass by Jesse Lingard, who came off the bench, late in stoppage time of regulation led to the winner for the Young Boys, courtesy of Jordan Siebatcheu.

After the match, Solskjaer was forced to defend his tactics.

”The signs were there in [the] last five minutes of the first half that they were going to get crosses in the box," said Solskjaer speaking to the media.

However, the Norwegian manager acknowledged his shortcomings as well while complimenting his defensive leaders.

"Raphael [Varane], Victor [Lindelof] and Harry [Maguire] coped with it well. It was the best way of controlling them (Young Boys), but we should have done more with the ball," he stated.

Team captain Harry Maguire also came to their manager’s defense in the post-match interview.

"I think the majority of their chances came late in the first half when we were playing a back four and we couldn't really get out to stop the crosses, we couldn't defend the box well enough with the number of bodies they were throwing forward into the box," said Maguire.

"And then we've come out in the second half and we looked controlled without the ball, without being a huge threat on the counter-attack. We could have done more on the ball but without the ball, they didn't really create big opportunities.”

Manchester United has put together the best team they have in years and have the capabilities to challenge for the Champions League title, but this loss to the Young Boys reflects extremely badly on Solskjaer’s coaching.

They will need to bounce back and win their next Champions League match convincingly against Villareal at Old Trafford on September 30 to satisfy critics and disappointed fans alike.