Donny van de Beek has donned the garb after his mistake in the Champions League match with Young Boys (1-1). The Manchester United midfielder lost the ball clumsily on the stroke of half-time and saw the Swiss score the equalizer. The home team was unable to undo that tap in the second half, partly due to the input of a large number of youth players.
United was already certain of wintering in the Champions League and for that reason entered the Young Boys with a significantly changed team. In addition to Van de Beek, there were also basic places for Feyenoord target Amad Diallo, Anthony Elanga and reserve goalkeeper Dean Henderson was standing between the posts. The team of interim manager Ralf Rangnick took the lead after nine minutes via Mason Greenwood, but had to take the equalizer just before half-time. Van de Beek handed the ball in to Fabian Rieder in an attempt to defend away, who made an excellent hit in the top right corner.
Oof! A costly mistake by Donny van de Beek… ?? His loss of the ball leads in the beautiful 1-1 of Fabian Rieder on behalf of Young Boys ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #MUNYB pic.twitter.com/dlmXY2weji
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) December 8, 2021
“I take my responsibility for the goal against,” Van de Beek told the Manchester United club channel after the draw. “The 1-1 fell due to me losing the ball. Afterwards I might have been better off shooting the ball, but I didn’t.” Van de Beek has done himself a disservice with his mistake and can probably whistle for his first base place of the season in the Premier League for the time being. “I think the first 30 minutes were okay, then we had a few chances to make it 2-0 or 3-0. We didn’t do that. I think if we had it would have been a lot easier been.”
Van de Beek saw his team sink after the 1-1. “I think we didn’t get enough pressure on them, also we lost the ball too often. It was difficult to get control of the game. But in general I think a lot of guys can be satisfied that they have their first game have played in the Champions League. Of course I congratulate them, because I know that it is very special to play tonight.” United as group head avoids Ajax in the eighth finals, but can meet Paris Saint-Germain and Internazionale, among others. “Whoever it is, I think all teams are strong at this stage of the Champions League,” concluded Van de Beek.
The midfielder is meanwhile razed to the ground by the English media. “Van de Beek played nineteen times in the the Dutch squad, won the Eredivisie and helped Ajax to the Europa League final in 2017 and the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019, but if you look at his display on Wednesday, it’s hard to imagine.” believe he is the same player,” writes the Sun about the actions of the Dutchman. “As the pivot of midfield, behind Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, his role was to dictate United’s play. He failed to do that. Donny van de Beek cost Manchester United the three points against Young Boys with another tasteless performance in the Champions League.”
According to the British tabloid, which headlined with the words ‘Flop of 40 million proves Solskjaer right’, the midfielder suspects that the midfielder has lost his credit with the new manager. “He made a terrible mistake at 1-1, but perhaps even more worrying is that he showed little creativity on the ball. One man who was right is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian was berated by some of the fans, because he didn’t give Van de Beek playing time. Those supporters will now feel a bit stupid for their unwavering support for the man who still has to prove that he belongs at United.”
Also TEAMtalk was not particularly pleased with Van de Beek’s performance and gave him a 6 as a mark. “He was given more responsibility, but his passes were not always clean. He was not afraid to do dirty work, but he handed in the ball for the equalizer. He will be happy with ninety minutes.” The Manchester Evening News is of the opinion that Van de Beek’s mediocre performance is not entirely attributable to him. “He won’t be grateful to Rangnick for being the only defensive midfielder.” Van de Beek formed a midfield against Young Boys with Diallo and Juan Mata.