The shot map above (provided by FotMob) tells you all you need to know. Young Boys 2-1 Manchester United on a night that started with promise and optimism but ultimately ended in despair.
It always seems like with Ole’s United, when things go wrong, they go wrong in the worst possible way with this being one of those nights. Everyone has differing opinions as to who gets the blame and whichever way you choose to look at it, everyone is probably correct.
Second half goals from Nicolas Ngamaleu and Jordan Siebatcheau were enough to cancel out Cristiano Ronaldo’s early opener and sesecure famous a comeback victory against 10 man Manchester United. Aaron Wan-Bisakka was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle in the 35th minute.
In the immediate post-match interview and then at the presser, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer made mention of the phrase “hard-earned point”, meaning that United would've been okay with a draw after going down to 10 men. Now that doesn't sit right with a lot of people.
The quality of the team as it is now only attracts more scrutiny and frustration when results like this come about. Against a team like Young Boys, United are expected to at least be a threat offensively even if they were a man down. Up until the 72nd minute when Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes were subbed off, even beyond that, United showed nothing by way of offensive output since Wan-Bisakka’s dismissal. They failed to register a single shot.
This shocking statistic is more evidence of the lack of structure in the team. The signs were already present during their 4-1win against Newcastle last weekend and even beyond that. If they struggle to break teams down when they are at full compliment then attempting to do so a man light would be an even bigger problem. It's not a pleasant situation but it's not an unfamiliar one either.
Changing the formation to a back five was a logical decision because the opposition was trying to get crosses in from the flanks - an endeavor which they were successful in as they equalized from a crossing situation. The introduction of Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard for Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo raised some eyebrows but they were also logical decisions considering what the manager’s end goal was.
Matic was brought on to be defensive cover as well as a calm head in possession while Lingard was brought on because of his ball carrying ability in order to get the play upfield and keep the ball as far away from David De Gea as possible.
United were coping well as most of Young Boys shots came from distance but a careless back pass from Lingard was pounced upon by Jordan Siebatcheau which meant that all the hard work was undone at that moment. It was a freak moment that just happened to occur when United needed it the least - in the final minute of the game.
It all felt very Istanbul.
The fact that this loss came while Chelsea’s valiant defensive display against Liverpool remains relatively fresh in the memories of fans makes the result even more unacceptable.
Liverpool are a far better team than Young Boys and Chelsea managed to create one or two chances while also being solid at the back as well while United struggled to get the ball forward at any point after the red card. The difference is, Chelsea’s settled system is a back five unlike United who were using it out of necessity. It was obvious there wasn't an actual way they had been coached to deal with situations like this in order to attack effectively. Again, United coped well playing with five defenders regardless of that but the outcome of the match was unfortunate.
FIVE GAMES TO GO
"We need 12 points to go through. You need to win your home games, win one away from home and go through. A missed opportunity tonight, of course, but then again last year we won our first two games against PSG and Red Bull [Leipzig] and everyone thought we were through. So we have five games to get the 10 or 12 points."
Lucky for United, Atalanta and Villareal played to an entertaining stalemate which means Young Boys, the least likely to go through in the group, are top at the moment and their other rivals have a point each. All hope is not lost.
Is Ole the right man to lead this team to European glory? His record of seven losses in eleven Champions League games won't be much of an assurance that he will but it's unlikely he will be going anywhere anytime soon so we will just have to wait and see.
In the short term, a trip to the London stadium to face a tricky West Ham side is on the horizon and they will need to shrug off this result in order to get all three points.
This team, flaws and all, is the best team United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson retired so the belief should be that they will be okay in the end but as long as some of the structural and personnel holes still exist, success isn't as sure a thing as it should be.
It's not all doom and gloom, at least not yet.