Manchester United’s loss against Tottenham Hotspur brought a mix of pain, upset, and anger to fans around the world.
Unable to score a goal to force extra-time, Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao.
It means United will end the season trophyless, with the humiliation of a 16th placed Premier League finish, that could yet slip to 17th on the final day of the season.
United have hit rock bottom, and there is a searing mix of painful emotions following the 1-0 defeat.
This was evident in the postgame coverage on MUTV, where former academy player and analyst Ben Thornley criticised two Tottenham players following the loss.
Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Ben Thornley calls out Tottenham duo
Manchester United competed well with Tottenham, but found it impossible to break down their defence, despite them conceding 61 goals this season in the league alone.
United got so desperate that once again Harry Maguire was deployed up front late in the game, a sign of Ruben Amorim’s lack of options.
Tottenham’s defence were resolute, had a bit of luck too, while Cristian Romero clashed with Maguire throughout, and especially during his stint up front.
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This was enough to enrage a watching Thornley, who called him out during a rant on MUTV.
Thornley told the channel: “I thought Romero was a disgrace, Richarlison wasn’t far behind, the referee fell for some of their tactics.”
It is likely Thornley was referring to Romero exaggerating a foul from Harry Maguire late in the game to exaggerate impact from the Manchester United defender to waste time.
Thornley feels Tottenham were lucky
Thornley admitted Manchester United had themselves to blame, but also expressed his view that Tottenham were beneficiaries of good fortune.
He said: “We didn’t give Vicario anything to think about until it was too late.
“It’s such a disappointing evening, you don’t want to be too critical, but they had the opportunities to beat a poor Spurs side who showed no desire to add to their lucky lead they got in the first half.”
Tottenham’s goal came when Brennan Johnson attacked a cross at the near post, that ricocheted off Luke Shaw and sneaked in past Andre Onana.
It should have been kept out, but it was also Manchester United’s job to make sure that did not matter, by going on to score at the other end.