BAILLY, LINGARD AND RASHFORD DETERMINED TO BOUNCE BACK
Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton & Hove Albion cannot come quickly enough for the Manchester United players, who are desperate to bounce back from the UEFA Champions League defeat to Sevilla and subsequent exit from Europe’s top competition.
The Reds suffered a shock 2-1 loss at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, after visiting substitute Wissam Ben Yedder scored a punishing second-half brace before Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back late on.
The likes of Jose Mourinho, Nemanja Matic and Lukaku all spoke to the media following the final whistle, to express their disappointment and state the importance of this weekend’s FA Cup tie.
Now, a number of players have used their personal social media accounts to assure supporters the Champions League exit has prompted a stirring, passionate response inside the dressing room.
“We ask the fans for forgiveness following our exit,” centre-back Eric Bailly tweeted to his followers. “Last night was terrible and we must all reflect and take note so it doesn't happen again. It's painful, but we have to get right back up, dust ourselves off, and look ahead.”
Jesse Lingard, who played for 77 minutes on Tuesday, posted: “Angry. Sad. Hurt. Disappointed. A lot of emotions, But knowing how good the bond is between the club, fans and players shows me that we can stick together through the ups and downs and that we can bounce back.”
Marcus Rashford, who looked particularly emotional at full-time against Sevilla, also posted this message to fans: “Fell short last night, hard result to take! We have to bounce back on Saturday.”
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
When speaking to BT Sport on Tuesday night, Lukaku was quizzed on the scenes in the United dressing room after the final whistle and the Belgian goalscorer admitted several players were visibly upset about the result, while others were “hiding” from the disappointment.
Romelu clarified his comments in the same interview, but that unfortunately did not prevent inaccurate headlines in the press that falsely claimed he had criticised his own team-mates.
The 24-year-old has now addressed the situation on Instagram and set the record straight: “Never will I criticise my teammates,” he posted. “Hiding your face when you’re upset in the dressing room is normal... The result is terrible but we’re @manchesterunited and we will bounce back for sure with your support! Another big game coming up, time to prepare for that one! 200 goals now in my young career but it’s time to add trophies in my career... time to work even harder.”