Erik ten Hag was angered by “three tough decisions” that went against Manchester United in a chaotic late loss at Copenhagen that damages their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout phase.
Wednesday’s helter-skelter Group A encounter started with a Rasmus Hojlund brace against his former club but ended in a crushing 4-3 defeat sparked by Marcus Rashford’s red card.
The United forward was sent off after a VAR review late in the first half for catching Elias Jelert, with Mohamed Elyounoussi quickly scoring before Diogo Goncalves levelled from the spot.
Bruno Fernandes’ penalty put the visitors back ahead in the second half, only for Lukas Lerager and substitute Roony Bardghji to score in a blockbuster conclusion to a bonkers match.
“It’s clear we’re very disappointed and because you play very good,” Ten Hag said. “I think we started the game so well. The best minutes of this season.
“We are winning the game and I think the red card changes everything.
“Then we concede two goals before half-time, which should never have counted.
“First is offside, second a penalty and that is – in four games – four penalties against. I say three are very debatable.
“(Rashford’s red) is also harsh. I think he went for the ball and the referee needs such a long time to make it a red card.”
Ten Hag says an offside player was in Andre Onana’s vision when Elyounoussi scored and was aggrieved by the decision to award handball against Harry Maguire for Goncalves’ penalty.
The United boss was also annoyed by the slow motion and freeze frame shown to referee Donatas Rumsas by the VAR as he decided on Rashford’s red.
“I think when you freeze it, it always looks worse,” Ten Hag said. “As I say, it takes them so long and they make a red card of it.
“I’m very disappointed about such decisions. I think the game is never meant to be like this.
“It has nothing to do with football. Decisions have to be made and I accept that also wrong decisions are made by some at this level.
“Three such tough decisions, you control the game and I think the game is never meant to be for that.”
The defeat leaves United bottom of Group A and knowing they will be unable to reach Champions League knockout phase if they lose their penultimate match at Galatasaray at the end of November.
“This squad is resilient,” Ten Hag said. “The whole season, so many decisions are against us, so many setbacks for injuries.
“Every time there is a spirit, there is a fight and we will keep going because I am sure and I said to the lads it will turn – on one moment in the season it will turn in our favour.”
Copenhagen counterpart Jacob Neestrup admitted Rashford’s red card changed the dynamics of a win he felt his side deserved after their promising start to the group.
“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.
“Of course the red card changed the opportunities in the game and for me as Copenhagen coach it was by far the weakest performance we have had in this group stage so far.
“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.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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