Manchester United suffered a disappointing 3-0 loss to Sevilla to crash out of the Europa League on Thursday, Sportivationng.com reports.
Youssef En-Nesyri scored a brace and Loic Bade added the other goal to dump the Red Devils out of the competition.
Manager Erik Ten Hag was furious after the match after his team failed to show up in their biggest game of the season.
“We have to face that we let ourselves down and we let the fans down,’ said the United manager. ‘If you want to win trophies, if you want to be successful, you need character.
“We have to be better. It’s not about playing skills. It’s about character, to be composed, to have desire and passion. Sevilla had more willingness to win, and that can’t be. I think it’s unacceptable.
We lost the battles. Sevilla had more passion, more desire, more willingness, and that’s difficult to win games.
The players have to perform. I believe in them and trust them, but they have to show it and they were not good enough.
‘We have shown on so many occasions good things but tonight we weren’t ready for the game. At this level, playing for Manchester United, you have to be ready for every game.
‘This was a great opportunity, a great occasion, to win something and we gave it away. We have to blame ourselves. It’s gone, we can’t change it.”
However, Ten Hag defended David De Gea following his error in the encounter.
“He’s the one with the most clean sheets in the Premier League, and that shows he’s a very capable goalkeeper.”
The Dutch manager has urged his players to move on and focus on the FA Cup semi final clash against Brighton on Sunday.
“We have to look forward to Sunday, that’s the next opportunity,’ said Ten Hag.
“We showed in the past we can quickly bounce back. We have done it many times this season, but we have to start games better with more desire and more composure on the ball.
“When you get the setback you have to deal with it and carry on. I had this question many times, after Manchester City (6-3), after Liverpool (7-0) and after Brentford (4-0), and every time we bounce back.”
Manchester United won the Carabao Cup in February after beating Newcastle 2-0 at Wembley.
