Scott McTominay says the whole team have to take responsibility for Manchester United’s bleak Champions League predicament after Andre Onana’s mistakes and a lack of killer instinct cost them at Galatasaray.
Having lost three of their opening four Group A matches, Erik ten Hag’s side managed to throwaway a two-goal second-half lead in Istanbul as a pulsating, helter-skelter clash ended 3-3.
Wednesday’s result leaves United bottom of the pool with only the home clash with already qualified Bayern Munich to come in a fortnight’s time.
Copenhagen’s draw in Germany later that day keeps the Red Devils’ faint chances of progressing alive, but they must win their final game and hope Copenhagen draw with Galatasaray.
“We have to wait and see,” McTominay told the PA news agency. “It’s not in our hands.
“We’ve put ourselves in that position and we have to own it and that’s football.
“We kept our cool really well, I felt like throughout large portions of the game.
“Obviously towards the end it gets a little bit like a basketball game where everyone’s up and down and some tired legs and stuff like that.
“We need to rest, recover and there’s is a big game coming up on Saturday, which we will be ready for as well.”
United have little time to recover from their draining night in Turkey as attention turns to Saturday evening’s Premier League trip to Newcastle.
All eyes are sure to be on goalkeeper Onana in the North East after the summer signing endured another chastening Champions League night for the Red Devils.
Guilty of gaffes away to Bayern and in the reverse fixture against Galatasaray, the Cameroon international was somehow beaten by two Hakim Ziyech free-kicks on Wednesday.
The second was particularly shocking and proved the catalyst to the hosts’ comeback but McTominay refused to blame him and acknowledged that outfield players should have put the game to bed.
“We’re so disappointed not to come away with more goals than three, to be honest,” said the midfielder, who had put United 3-1 up in the 55th minute.
“If you had said that to us before the evening started (we would score three) we would have been delighted with that, hopefully get another clean sheet.
“But football’s football. There’s mistakes and different things that can happen in the game and it’s partly our fault at the other end of the pitch for not killing the game as well.
“We had control and we were playing some good stuff.
“That’s football. It can happen and there’s no individuals in this team. We all want to be a collective and push each other forwards together.
“But, yeah, there’s another game on Saturday which we’re looking forward to and we’ll learn from this one for sure.”
McTominay added that “whatever happens at both ends of the pitch we need to stick together” as United look to shake off their challenging Champions League disappointment.
Newcastle have also been in midweek action away to Paris St Germain and St James’ Park is set to provide another hostile environment for Ten Hag’s team.
“There’s no intimidation in football,” McTominay added. “You’ve just got to go there and take it on its head on and go for it.
“That’s the way that this team wants to operate – we want to go and fight every challenge head on and that’s it.
“There’s no ducking and diving out of situations. We want to go and push ourselves and test ourselves against some really good teams as well.”
New York City FC v Nashville SC: 'Fourth place is everything', claims Cushing
Nick Cushing has insisted New York City FC's focus must be on rounding off the regular-season strongly as he eyes a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
His side sit fifth, two points behind current fourth-placed Orlando City after a 3-2 home victory over third-placed FC Cincinnati.
They have two games remaining before the postseason, which they have already secured their place in, but they also have the chance to reach 50 points for the first time since 2022.
With Orlando facing a tough opponent in Cincinnati this weekend, Cushing remains determined to direct his team's focus on their upcoming match.
"The whole aim of not having a mental slip up [against Nashville] is to focus on fourth place," he told the press.
"Fourth place is everything to us. We could be playing top of the league. We could be playing the team bottom of the league.
"Our mentality, our focus, has to be on performing, and on getting intensity into the game and doing the things that have helped us win football games lately because if we continue to win and somebody around us slips up, that fourth place is open for us."
Their visiting opponents, Nashville SC, find themselves in a different predicament as they sit outside of the playoff spots in 13th place.
"I think Nashville are a really difficult team to play against. I think under their previous coach [they were] direct, and incredible on set plays,” added Cushing.
"Hany Muktar is very dangerous. Sam Surridge is a top player. They’ve got good players, and you have to see past results because, with the new coach, they now play a little bit more."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York City – Alonso Martinez
Martinez is the joint-ninth top scorer in the MLS this season with a club-leading 15 goals in 24 appearances so far.
NYCFC have not failed to score in their last five matches, and Martinez will be key to them keeping this streak in the hope of a win against Nashville.
Nashville – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar had a goal and an assist in Nashville's loss to D.C. United on Wednesday, his 30th career MLS match with multiple goal contributions.
Only Luciano Acosta and Daniel Gazdag have 20 such matches since Mukhtar debuted in MLS in 2020.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK CITY WIN
The hosts are in hot form. They have won consecutive matches after recording just one win in their previous 14 in all competitions (D9 L4).
NYCFC have scored eight times in the two matches, the first time the club has scored eight goals in a two-match span since April-May 2022.
Nashville, on the other hand, have lost six of their last seven regular-season away matches dating back to the beginning of July. They have scored just four goals over those seven matches and have only scored 10 times on the road in 2024, the fewest in MLS this season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New York City – 55.6%
Draw – 22.9%
Nashville – 21.5%
Al-Ahli 1-2 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double keeps Saudi champions perfect
Aleksandar Mitrovic proved to be the difference once again for Al-Hilal as the reigning Saudi Pro League champions beat Al-Ahli 2-1 on Saturday.
Al-Ahil went in front with 12 minutes played when Gabri Veiga was sent through on goal by Franck Kessie, with the Spaniard rounding Yassine Bounou to open the scoring at King Abdullah Sports City.
The hosts went close to doubling their advantage soon after, with Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney going close, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his effort cleared off the line at the other end.
But parity was restored early in the second half through Al-Hilal's master marksman, as Mitrovic nodded home a trademark header from Renan Lodi's delivery.
Al-Ahil were then awarded a penalty when Rayan Hamed fouled Malcom inside the box, only for Mitrovic to see his effort saved by Abdulrahman Al Sanbi.
However, the Serbian was given the chance to redeem himself after the VAR deemed encroachment had taken place, and he made no mistake at the second time of asking to net his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
Data Debrief: Mitrovic the main man
Mitrovic has been in fine form since his move to Saudi Arabia, with his latest double taking his tally to 54 goals in as many appearances for Al-Hilal.
This time out, he contributed 1.16 expected goals (xG) tally to the visitors' 2.24 total, while also recording the most touches in the opposition box (six).
Malcom also impressed for Al-Hilal, creating more chances (three) than anyone on the pitch, with his 14 passes into the final third a total only bettered by Ruben Neves (18) and Salem Al Dawsari (15) among his team-mates.
Al-Nassr 3-0 Al-Orubah: Mane double helps hosts close in on leaders
Sadio Mane scored a goal in either half, helping Al-Nassr cruise to a 3-0 win over Al-Orubah and close in on the top two in the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo had given the hosts the lead from the spot, setting them on their way to a dominant victory.
After a slow start, Jean Seri was penalised for a handball, and Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot. After a stuttering run-up, he coolly slotted his strike into the bottom-left corner.
Mane got his first on the stroke of half-time, latching onto Ronaldo's pull-back before firing his low shot into the far side of the net.
He could have had a hat-trick, having also hit the woodwork and squandered a first-time shot by slicing it wide, but he did get his second in the 71st minute, guiding Nawaf Bu Washi's cross past Gaetan Coucke.
Cristian Tello came closest to a consolation for the visitors, smashing a long-range effort off the crossbar.
Data Debrief: Mane's time to shine
Mane, so far this season, has been providing the spark as a playmaker after registering five assists in Al-Nassr's first five games in the Saudi Pro League.
Today, however, he regained his scoring touch, getting his first two goals of the campaign.
He had the most shots (five), and shots on target (three), as he accumulated 0.97 expected goals (xG), while his seven touches in the box was the most of any player on the field.
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