Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer backed Jesse Lingard after his swak backpass led to a shock 2-1 Champions League defeat at Switzerland’s Young Boys.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Red Devils a 13th-minute lead in Bern, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka earned a straight red card after 35 minutes for a high challenge on Christopher Martins.
After that it was downhill for Solskjaer’s manne, who failed to add to their two shots as poor defending allowed Nicolas Ngamaleu to equalise in the 66th minute.
The Norwegian then pulled off CR7 for Lingard and Bruno Fernandes for Nemanja Vidic in the 72nd minute as United looked to close up shop.
But the substitutions backfired as the England man’s injury-time pass to David de Gea was intercepted and dispatched by Jordan Pefok.
Of his besluite, Solskjaer explains: “The game had gone 70-odd minutes, they had been running a lot, both on Saturday and today.
“The astroturf takes its toll as well and we wanted Nemanja’s experience to keep hold of the ball and Jesse’s legs.”
With West Ham up next on Sunday in the Premier League, Solskjaer hinted that he is keen to use Lingard against the team he starred for on loan in the second half of last season.
The boss adds: “We’re humans, every footballer makes mistakes.
“Jesse was playing it safe.
“He’ll pick himself up and be ready to go on Sunday against West Ham.”
Tuesday night’s other Champions League results
Lille 0 Wolfsburg 0, Villarreal 2 Atalanta 2, Malmo 0 Juventus 3, Dynamo Kiev 0 Benfica 0, Sevilla 1 Salzburg 1.