Manchester United Must Avoid Collective Off-Day After Premier League Defeatnewsline24

-myKhel Team

Manchester United slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United, and goalkeeper Senne Lammens warned that collective off-days cannot happen in the Premier League as the club continue to chase Champions League qualification from third place.

Newcastle secured victory at St. James’ Park through William Osula’s 90th-minute curler, adding to Anthony Gordon’s earlier penalty, which also beat Lammens, while Casemiro had briefly restored parity for Manchester United with a first-half equaliser.

The deciding strike from Osula meant this was only the 10th time Manchester United have lost a Premier League match to a 90th-minute winning goal, with eight of those late defeats arriving across the last four seasons, underlining a recurring issue in tight games.

Newcastle finished the match with 10 players after Jacob Ramsey collected two yellow cards in the first half, yet the Magpies still found a late winner, leaving Manchester United reflecting on a result that damaged momentum against a side reduced in numbers.

Recent form against opponents who suffer an early dismissal has also shifted, with Manchester United losing two of their last three top-flight matches when rivals received a first-half red card, compared with 20 wins and three draws from the first 23 such league games.

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Despite the defeat, Manchester United stay third in the Premier League table and remain in charge of their Champions League prospects, though Lammens accepted that performance levels must rise if the team want to protect that position during the final months of the season.

When asked what went wrong, Lammens told MUTV: “I mean, yeah, just like physicality, the effort. It felt like we didn’t bring enough or the same as they did, and then it’s always going to be a tough one, especially here with their fans behind them.”

Lammens stressed that dips in form cannot spread through the entire side, especially in such a demanding league, and pointed out that the squad now have a short spell to reflect before responding.

“I mean, you can have off-days, of course, but it’s a collective off-day, which is not really possible. Not in this league, not against those teams, so we need to learn from it. It is a real disappointment, and the feeling is really bad, but we have a couple of days, and I think weeks where we need to get together, and we need to think about how to react. Starting from tomorrow [Thursday], it’s going to be like this and, in training, keep the intensity going that we can deliver in the games and then react in the next game.”

Manchester United’s response will come after a gap in their schedule created by an FA Cup exit in January, with the next assignment a key Premier League meeting against top-four rivals Aston Villa on 15 March, giving the squad time to reset before another important test.

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