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Manchester United Conceded To Demba Ba After Having Two Men In The Box

Manchester United Conceded To Demba Ba After Having Two Men In The Box

Demba Ba was left free and ran from the halfway line to slot home.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Manchester United managed to display a level of defending that was worse than what you seen in Sunday League against İstanbul Başakşehir last night.

After two wins from their first two games, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side lost their first Champions League group match of the season in embarrassing fashion in the Turkish capital.

And the first goal, conceded just 12 minutes in, was one of the most bizarre sequences you will see in top-level football.

United had a corner and only had two players in the box to begin with. But somehow, around 30 seconds later everyone was within 30 yards of the goal in a truly awful defensive shape.



The hosts played it long and Demba Ba was left all alone on the halfway line. The nearest man to him was his former Chelsea teammate Nemanja Matic, who isn't exactly blessed with pace.

Ba ran all the way towards goal and slotted past Dean Henderson in the same way he capitalised on Steven Gerrard's slip and famously put Chelsea 1-0 up against Liverpool at Anfield in 2014.

Counter attacks are of course a common feature of the game and United themselves were the very best at doing it under Sir Alex Ferguson.

But this looked something you'd expect in the 87th minute when the game is stretched and United are searching for that crucial goal.

They've all been caught up the pitch and a simple ball over the top allowed Ba to score.

"It's like under-10s football," United legend Paul Scholes fumed on BT Sport.

"One behind, one in front. You can understand if it's last-minute, maybe, if you're going for a goal, but it's what, 15 minutes?

"It's embarrassing. What the back four are doing, I have no idea."

The second goal wasn't much better, however. Juan Mata was dispossessed and then two opposition players were left unmarked while three United players decided to mark one another.

Basaksehir skipper Edin Visca extended his side's lead and though Anthony Martial pulled one back instantly, the Turkish outfit held on for their first ever Champions League win.

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Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Demba Ba