Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side was sloppy and unfocused during their trip to Switzerland but the result has arrived at the right time to sharpen their focus ahead of a key run of games
Solskjaer and Maguire lament Manchester United’s lack of discipline in Bern. It was a painful defeat and a reality check for Manchester United who had been riding the crest of a wave.
A strong start to the Premier League campaign that had yielded 10 points in four matches had helped to bring to an end a summer of transfers.
But Tuesday night revealed familiar weaknesses: moments of individual recklessness, a lack of structure, and questionable substitutions.
There were question marks over the contribution of several players and the game management of boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, that held parallels to last year’s shambolic defeat in Istanbul.
That was the bad news; the flipside is that this is just one game and the nature of Champions League group stages means that there is more than enough time for United to rectify the situation.
United prefers to lose a match in the group stage rather than one in the Premier League. That would have serious implications through May.
United still has five matches left to win, and they will know that if United can win their three home matches as well as their remaining away games, they almost certainly will reach the knockout stage.
There was a positive result in Spain, where Villarreal and Atalanta canceled each other out – meaning that neither meaningfully pulled away from United in the standings. The group dynamics will mean that losing to Young Boys, an outsider, will not be as severe as similar outcomes against Villarreal or Atalanta. Both will be looking for a Round 16 spot.
Although the loss in Switzerland was painful, United may have needed it to be successful. United’s strong domestic start, as well as the additions of Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho, and Ronaldo, has led to optimism.
This was a wake-up call that they cannot afford lapses of concentration against any opponent and a learning curve for Solskjaer too – he went too negative, too early, and failed to adjust to the change of circumstances in-game.
The criticism that comes the way of both manager and players is merited yet this may be no bad thing – you always learn more from defeat than in victory, and this has presented United with the opportunity to refocus ahead of the weekend’s Premier League game against West Ham.
“You need 10, maybe 12, points, you need to win your home games, win one away from home,” After the game, Solskjaer acknowledged.
“Of course we’ve lost the opportunity to get three points but we’ve got two home games next and got to focus on the two. Lack of concentration, make a mistake and you get punished. You get done. That was what we did last year in Europe.”
“Today in the last seconds Jesse just wants to play it safe and just one misplaced pass and you’ve conceded a goal. Aaron is a skilled tackler and one of the tops in the world. We know we’ve given ourselves a more difficult task than what we did last year but everyone thought we were through after two games last year.”
United cannot afford a similar meek Champions League group stage exit to last season, but that will serve as a reminder that they must be ruthless and focused for the remainder of their games.