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Football

05th May 2019

Ashley Young “can’t fault effort” of Man Utd teammates in Huddersfield draw

Simon Lloyd

Young defended his side’s effort and attitude in the 1-1 draw

Manchester United will miss out on next season’s Champions League after drawing 1-1 with Huddersfield Town on Sunday afternoon.

Having taken the lead through Scott McTominay at the John Smith’s Stadium, United were pegged back after an hour by Isaac Mbenza’s equaliser.

Though they hit the bar through Paul Pogba in the closing minutes, United couldn’t regain the lead against their already-relegated opponents.

This, coupled with Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Watford at Stamford Bridge, means Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men can no longer finish in the Premier League’s top four.

United’s performance at Huddersfield again drew widespread criticism, with former player Gary Neville making his feelings abundantly clear while on Sky Sports co-commentary duty.

Whereas some supporters questioned the attitude of the United players, Ashley Young dismissed the idea that he and his teammates could have given more to the game in terms of effort.

“I can’t fault the effort and the attitude,” Young told Sky after full-time.

“It was all us, especially in the first 20 minutes. It’s tough to take, their goal. We knew we needed other people to help us but we needed to help ourselves and we haven’t done that today. It’s a disappointment.”

https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1125057750805950464

United, who had appeared to be out of contention for a top four finish when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho in December, now look set to finish the season in sixth.

Their final game will be at home to Cardiff City next weekend, where many senior members of the side could be making their final appearance for the club ahead of an anticipated summer overhaul of the squad.