Christian Eriksen shed light on a somber atmosphere in the Manchester United dressing room following their disheartening defeat against Galatasaray in the Champions League, painting a bleak picture for the club’s devoted supporters.
The game unfolded on a fateful Tuesday night, as Erik ten Hag’s side experienced their sixth defeat of the season at home, falling victim to Mauro Icardi’s decisive 81st-minute goal. Despite twice grasping the lead, Manchester United faced setbacks on either side of half-time, initially by the hands of former United player Wilfried Zaha and then an equalizer from Kerem Akturkoglu.
Moments prior to Icardi’s winning goal, the former PSG and Inter striker had a missed penalty opportunity, dragging the ball wide after Andre Onana’s second error in as many Champions League games. In a desperate attempt to mitigate Onana’s blunders, Casemiro fouled Dries Mertens, resulting in his second yellow card of the night and the third dismissal of his United career.
With the score knotted at 1-1, Ten Hag summoned Eriksen from the bench. Eriksen initially assisted in reestablishing United’s control, orchestrating a brilliant breakaway opportunity for Marcus Rashford before Hojlund scored his second goal of the night in the 67th minute.
However, Eriksen and his teammates struggled to stave off Galatasaray’s relentless counterattacks. After a distressing evening, Eriksen shared with TNT Sports, “It’s a significant disappointment.” The dressing room was uncharacteristically hushed, and Eriksen believed they had utilized some potent strategies during the game.
Expressing his perspective on the defeat, Eriksen stated, “No, I don’t believe it’s a matter of confidence. It’s a lack of awareness, sharpness, and untimely poor decisions. There’s a lot that needs addressing. It’s all in the finer details. Our losses wouldn’t be as frequent if we didn’t make mistakes.”
He remained optimistic about the team’s prospects, highlighting that it was early in the competition and there were numerous games to be played. As it stands, United finds themselves at the bottom of Group A, having suffered defeats in both of their European encounters, including a 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich a fortnight ago.
Bayern, despite an initial scare against FC Copenhagen, clinched a 2-1 victory on Tuesday, securing the top position in the group at this early stage of the competition. Galatasaray secured the second spot with four points, while Copenhagen managed one point—just one more than what United has garnered.
Looking ahead, Ten Hag’s team is scheduled to face Brentford, a team that dominated them with a 4-0 victory last season, on Saturday before the October international break. Following that, United will go head-to-head with FC Copenhagen at Old Trafford on Tuesday, October 24, in search of their first European point of the season.