Manchester United had a night to forget in Turkey against Istanbul Basaksehir.After wins against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side went into the match in a commanding position in Group C.But there was absolutely nothing commanding about their performance.They found themselves 1-0 down after 13 minutes with defending that was more Sunday League than Champions League.Following an attacking corner, Demba Ba was left completely alone 60 yards from Dean Henderson’s goal and one long clearance released the former Premier League striker, who made no mistake with his eventual finish.The defending didn’t improve much during the first half and, after 40 minutes, United found themselves 2-0 down.Juan Mata lost possession and Ba’s dummy allowed Edin Visca to smash the ball home.
Anthony Martial did pull a goal back before the break but it was a wretched first half display.Things did improve in the second half but the Red Devils were unable to get themselves out of jail.It’s probably unfair to single out any United player for criticism because it was such a terrible all-round performance but there’s one player who racked up a quite shocking statistic.Bruno Fernandes almost single-handedly dragged his side to a top-four finish and, therefore, Champions League qualification after he arrived in January.
But against Istanbul Basaksehir he gave the ball away a ridiculous THIRTY-FOUR times.
No, really.
That’s astonishing and, while he can’t be blamed for the defeat, it’s fair to say Bruno had an absolute nightmare.
It doesn’t get easier for United as they face a trip to Everton in the early kick-off on Saturday.