Copenhagen mock Man Utd with 'weakest performance' dig
Robin Bairner
- 9 Nov 2023 00:52 CST
- 3 min read
Manchester United have been mocked by Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup after their 4-3 Champions League loss to the Danish club.
United slumped to bottom of Group A after a dramatic encounter at Parken, where the Red Devils led 2-0 early but were pegged back by the interval following a red card to Marcus Rashford.
Bruno Fernandes gave the visitors the lead again with a second-half penalty, but two late goals turned the match in favour of the visitors, who are now second in the group behind already-qualified Bayern Munich.
Prior to the match, Copenhagen fans greeted Manchester United with a banner that said they were entering the ‘Theatre of Nightmare’ and it proved to be too true for manager Erik ten Hag, with Zinedine Zidane favourite to replace him as the prospect of the sack looms.
It was by far the weakest performance we have had in this group stage so far
- Jacob NeestrupAnd Neestrup rubbed salt into the wounds at full-time when he proclaimed that Copenhagen had been nowhere near their best in picking up the three point.
“For me as Copenhagen coach it was by far the weakest performance we have had in this group stage so far,” he admitted.
“If you take the picture today, then we maybe didn’t deserve three or maybe even one point.
“But if you take it over four rounds, then it’s very, very well deserved that Copenhagen is in second place because I believe truly that we have been the second-best team over four games. Not today, but over four games.”
Copenhagen got lucky
Neestrup admitted his side enjoyed the break against the Red Devils.
“I have never said in the first three rounds we have been unlucky,” the head coach said. “I’ve said it’s been a lack of quality.
“If there was something that was called luck in football, then we’ve got it today. But we also hunted.
“The early goal made us very, very shaky. We are the second best team on the pitch in the whole first half until the red card.
“That of course changed momentum for the next 15 minutes in the first half where we scored two goals.”
Man Utd next travel to Galatasaray in the Champions League in an encounter they must win to retain their own destiny, but if they lose to Luton Town in the Premier League at the weekend, there will be serious doubts over whether Ten Hag remains in charge.
