FC MIDTJYLLAND 2, MANCHESTER UNITED 1
- David De Gea injures knee in warm up and is replaced by Sergio Romero; Wayne Rooney already out after knee injury against Sunderland
- Memphis Depay opens the scoring for Man Utd
- Pione Sisto and Paul Onuachu goals stun the Reds
- United Fans protest at £71 ticket prices
Goals by Pione Sisto and Paul Onuachu cancelled out a Memphis Depay opener as Manchester United went down to a 2-1 defeat in Denmark in the first leg of their Europa League tie against FC Midtjylland.
United manager Louis Van Gaal had earlier admitted that winning Europe’s second tier competition represented the Reds’ best chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
But a first leg defeat came at the hands of their Danish hosts, who were thrashed 9-1 on aggregate by Napoli in the group stages of the Europa League, and had not even played a game in two months.
The humbling defeat was played out in front of travelling fans who protested at paying a withering £71 to watch their team be deservedly beaten by the Danes, compared to the £22 paid by Southampton fans who came to visit last August.
The Reds had already been hit by the big blow of the loss of Wayne Rooney to a knee injury suffered towards the end of the defeat at Sunderland last weekend when they were hit again with another injury blow with the loss of David De Gea, one of only 13 remaining fit senior players, to a knee injury while warming up.
Sergio Romero stepped up for his first United game since October and was joined in the United team by Donald Love, making his first start for the Reds at right back in place of the injured Matteo Darmian.
Injuries also dictated Van Gaal’s other three changes as Paddy McNair came in for the unwell Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Ander Herrera came in for Morgan Schneiderlin and Depay replaced Rooney.
Romero had to be alert close to the end of a generally sterile first half when the Reds defence was split by a simple long ball from the home half in the 37th minute.
The Argentine made the save, denying Vaclav Kadlec whose shot was too close to him, and United responded with a goal less than a minute later at the end of a counter attack.
Memphis stumbled when controlling a ball from the right before thrashing it past Mikkel Andersen for only his sixth United goal this season.
The Reds couldn’t preserve the lead, though, and two minutes before the break the Reds lost the ball through the usually reliable Michael Carrick, and paid the price.
Pione Sisto drove past Ander Herrera and Paddy McNair and drilled the ball past Romero with a slight deflection off McNair to take it away from the United ‘keeper.
And substitute Paul Onuachu evaded a poor Juan Mata challenge and to beat Romero and put FC Midtjylland into the driving seat for the tie with just 13 minutes to go.
Manchester City needed penalties to beat Midtjylland when they faced them in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup in 2008 but United’s walking wounded will need a much improved performance to beat the Danes who had barely been formed when Sir Alex Ferguson was winning his first Champions League trophy with the Reds.