United disappointed but charging on

Manchester United’s first match on the Champions League group stage ended in disappointment as hosts PSV Eindhoven came back to snatch a hard-fought victory. Chris Smalling says they must learn from this and look ahead.

It was certainly not what the Reds expected when the whistle blew at Philips Stadion. The boys from Old Trafford were forced to accept a frustrating 2-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven, the reining Dutch Eredivisie champions. After all, with an impressive 67 percent ball possession, United clearly dominated much of the match.

And that despite the fact that team captain and star forward Wayne Rooney didn’t even make the trip to England’s North Sea neighbors after suffering a minor injury in practice – and Marouane Fellaini taking a seat on the sidelines after feeling unwell. To make matters worse for Louis van Gaal’s side, left-back Luke Shaw was stretchered off with a serious injury midway through the first half after a – as far as we’re concerned – not uncontroversial two-legged tackle.

The Reds drew first blood as new signing Memphis Depay – recruited from PSV Eindhoven – scored a tremendous goal after being fed by Daley Blind, shrugging off one defender, skipping past another and making an emphatic finish. He nearly scored again minutes later.

Though it seemed at that stage like van Gaal’s men might run away with it – especially when center-back Chris Smalling showed us his offensive prowess only to have his fierce strike pushed brilliantly aside by PSV’s goalie Zoet – United gave one up just before the have to make the score 1-1.

The quick tempo continued after the interval, and though the Reds continued to dominate for the most part, PSV’s Lestienne eventually broke free down the left and fired a first-time cross that just eluded Rojo and was buried at the far post by Narsingh’s diving header to put PSV out in front. 

In the end, United had more possession and more opportunities but it just wasn’t their night. 

Smalling says learn from it
Chris Smalling believes United must turn possession into goals after the narrow defeat to PSV. “I think that we missed a cutting edge in the final third and in their box, and we needed to really try and make more of our possession,” he told BT Sport after the final whistle.

“We scored a really god goal and then we couldn’t kick on from that. We’ve got a lot to learn to make sure we bounce back on Sunday.

Coach van Gaal agrees: “We can only blame ourselves because we have created so many chances … you have to be effective.”

That’s what it’s going to take to keep up in a challenging Group B – learning from setbacks and looking for continuous improvement. We wish our partners the best of luck as they continue their battle against Europe’s elite. 

Read full match report here.