Man Utd conquerors ‘could not believe’ Champions League blunder

Will Ford

Istanbul Basaksehir manager, Okan Buruk, admits he was shocked by Manchester United’s defending in their Champions League clash.

United left Demba Ba totally unmarked as he raced clear from the halfway line to slot in the opening goal in a 2-1 win.


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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came under significant pressure following the surprise result and Buruk admits the defending – or lack of it – was perplexing.

“We could not believe how much space Demba Ba was given, it wasn’t his goal that shocked us but the fact he was completely unchallenged,” Buruk said.

“I said after the previous game that we played well but our inexperience showed.

“We showed glimpses of what we were capable of against PSG but were unable to take our chances.

“We are growing in confidence and hope to spring a few more surprises in this group.”

Speaking about their defending after the game, manager Solskjaer said: “The first one is that we play a short corner and forget about the man up top. That’s unforgivable… We’ve not done our roles, it’s my responsibility,” the Norwegian said.

“You don’t see goals like that at this level. You shouldn’t concede easy goals like that. When you do, it makes winning matches a lot harder.”

Mark Smith and Matt Stead know all about disappointments. Join them to discover that Chelsea are the only Big Six club without representation on this week’s top ten.