Manchester United’s catastrophic start to the season continued last night with defeat in the Champions League to Galatasaray at Old Trafford.
The night should have belonged to Rasmus Hojlund, who twice gave United the lead, but inexplicable defending allowed the Turkish side to respond on both occasions before eventually netting the winner with ten minutes remaining.
The defeat has left United pointless in Group A and with a mountain to climb if they are to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Christian Eriksen came on at half-time last night and despite playing well couldn’t prevent United from suffering their sixth loss in ten this season.
The Dane reflected on the mood in the dressing room after the game and believes conceding so quickly after scoring was key to the defeat.
“It’s a big disappointment. It was very quiet in the dressing room. I think we had some good spells in the game, but in the end, when we went ahead, we conceded shortly after and of course, that makes it difficult to stay in the game,” he said.
Eriksen continued saying it’s something the team must improve on if they are to turnaround the current poor form.
“That’s something we have to change and quickly. I don’t think it’s confidence, it’s more awareness and sharpness to really keep our form. Going ahead twice, you shouldn’t throw that away and we’ve done that in some other games this season,” said Eriksen.
The 31-year-old bemoaned the luck United are suffering since the start of the season but admits they need to cut out the sloppy errors that are giving up chances.
“I think it’s sharpness and wrong decisions at the wrong times and a bit of bad luck following us around at the moment. We have to do a lot of work but again it’s details. The chances they had were from our mistakes and if we don’t make them, we don’t concede as we do,” he said.
Although last night has left United in a dire situation in the group, fortunately, they can still qualify but will need an almost perfect run of games to do so – something Eriksen acknowledges.
“Luckily, it’s only the start of the competition, we’ve only played two games and there’s still a lot of games to play. We know for the next game we need to win every game for the opportunity to go through,” he added.
United need to return to form fast, if they are to save a season which is already hanging by a thread.
Brentford travel to Old Trafford on Saturday in what looks like an absolute must win game before the international break. Anything less will leave Ten Hag facing major questions, even this early in the campaign.