The Manchester United squad have found their fall-guy for Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Wolfsburg that precipitated their Champions League exit.
Players are not blaming themselves for failing to defend better for the 90 minutes, or hold onto the lead in the game for more than a few minutes.
But Louis van Gaal, who is now under increasing pressure at Old Trafford, is the source of much internal ire. The Dutchman irritated many with a substitution in the match when the result, and the club’s Champion’s League hopes, were still in the balance as they trailed 2-1 in Germany.
Juan Mata had a goal disallowed at the end of the first half, but its seems that his replacement in the 69th minute for Nick Powell, who hadn’t featured for his club in 16 months, was a major source of confusion among players.
The Times are reporting that players were left bemused when Mata was called ashore despite having assisted Anthony Martial for the opening goal, and generally being one of the better players in red.
The players are not laying any blame at the door of Powell, but rather the manager for landing the player in an unenviable position to rescue the club’s Champions League ambitions in just 20 minutes with no game time in so long.
Clearly Manchester United fans also felt perplexed by the change,
Feel for Nick Powell. Wasnt his absurd decision to bring himself on for Mata, and now he’s getting grief for the terrible crime of not…
— Nick (@ManUnitedYouth) December 10, 2015
Hi @stephenfry big fan and you appear really clever, given your intellect, can you shed any light on Mata for Powell please?
— Dav Wilbs (@WillyBlob) December 9, 2015
https://twitter.com/AidanMUFC_/status/674524867337838592
Bringing on Nick Powell for Juan Mata in a game of this importance has to be the coaching move of the season so far… #LVGisagenius
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) December 8, 2015
https://twitter.com/theunitedmanc/status/674345887020265472
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