It`s a difficult time for Manchester United who unfortunately were affected by a series of injuries right when things were starting to look a bit better. FC Midtjylland put up an excellent fight and came back with two goals after Depay showcased his great ball control skills and got the opener. Right before the Dutchman scored, LVG’s side was somewhat dominated but was able to fend off the attacks and actually looked good for a period but Juan Mata missed a great chance with his head and after that it all seemed to slip away. It was not United’s night as we could see even before the games started. De Gea picked up an injury in the warm up and is expected to undergo further investigation today.
As Van Gaal told BT Sport after the game, he was not at all happy with the way things went down in Denmark as seen in his post-match statements:
“When you start a game and your goalkeeper is number 14, you are not starting like usual. A lot of things are happening in the heads of the players,” Van Gaal told BT Sport. “In the first 10, 15 minutes we were not so good. We improved and scored, but then it is too much. The second half we do not win any second balls. You cannot afford to concede a second goal, but we could have scored. Jesse Lingard had two remarkable chances. It is the law of Murphy. We were not very organized. We have the chance to beat them at home and I think we can do that. De Gea has a knee problem so we have to investigate tomorrow”
Manchester do have a chance of beating the Danish side and even though they did not put up the best of fights last night they still remain favorites at Old Trafford. FC Midtjylland have some great players, but it`s hard to believe thy will be able to replicate last night’s game when everything is in United’s favor if LVG can get a few healthy bodies back.
United now get ready to face Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup which looks like the only trophy that United could win. Midtjylland will be coming to Manchester on the 25th and hopefully the home advantage will help LVG’s side move to the next stage of the Europa League which, if won, could take United to the Champions League.