Harry Maguire admitted “naive” Manchester United paid the price for being too attacking in the final minutes of their shock 2-1 defeat against Fulham on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag’s side suffered a major blow to their hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League as Alex Iwobi snatched Fulham’s winner seven minutes into stoppage time.
United defender Maguire looked to have rescued a point when his close-range finish in the 89th minute cancelled out Calvin Bassey’s 65th-minute opener.
But United were caught throwing players forward in search of all three points as Iwobi capped a counter-attack to seal Fulham’s first victory at Old Trafford since 2003.
“Overall on the balance of play, we didn’t do enough in the first 60 minutes or so. We started the game not great,” Maguire said.
“The first half was pretty even, but when you’re not playing at your best you have to do the basics right.
“To be a goal behind, I thought our reaction was brilliant, especially in the last 30 minutes and when we equalised probably only one team was going to win it.
“We were probably naive in the end by throwing too many bodies forward and getting done on the counterattack.”
Sixth-placed United are now eight points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
