Express
Donny van de Beek has conceded that he should have cleared the ball after gifting Young Boys a brilliant equaliser in last night’s final Champions League group game at Old Trafford. With the Red Devils already through to the last 16, Ralf Rangnick needed no second invitation to make a whole host of changes to his starting XI following the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in a bid to freshen things up and take a look at some of the club’s younger players.
One of those was the introduction of Van de Beek, who is looking to kickstart his United career following the sacking of former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who brought him to the club for £34million in 2020.
The former Ajax man scored the final goal of the Solskjaer tenure in the 4-1 defeat at Watford before earning a start last time out in the Champions League against Villarreal under Michael Carrick.
Yet on Wednesday night, Van de Beek failed to seize his opportunity against the Swiss side after starting in central midfield for Rangnick.
He was seemingly lacking confidence and rhythm before gaving the ball away for Young Boys’ equaliser.
After receiving the ball on the edge of his own box, Van de Beek passed the ball straight to Fabian Rieder, who took a few touches before smashing home into the top corner from 20 yards.
Van de Beek was keen to admit he was in the wrong in his post-match interview, shouldering the blame for the result with an honest admission.
“Maybe I should kick it away,” he told Man United’s website. “I didn’t do that I take responsibility for that, after that it was a little bit difficult.
“We didn’t get enough pressure on them, we lost too many balls and it’s difficult to come into the game.”
United still managed to finish top of their group, meaning they will now face Atletico Madrid, Benfica, RB Salzburg, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain or…
