TAHITH CHONG missed a horror sitter as Manchester United were made to pay for squandering opportunities in the Europa League.
The big-haired Dutch winger, 19, ghosted in at the far post after Luke Shaw squared a ball across to him.
Tahith Chong was unmarked on the far post but he missed from six yards outCredit: BT Sport
Teen winger Chong’s face said it all after he missed a simple tap-in
Shaw combined for a neat one-two with Angel Gomes on the left.
But Chong, waiting by the far post, skewed his effort over the crossbar to miss a huge chance to put United two-goals up in Nur-Sultan.
Astana then went up the other end and scored the equaliser, with the visitors clearly shell-shocked after the missed chance.
United were all at sea when Dimitri Shomko went down the other end and found the back of the net.
Chong was taken off for D’Mani Bughail-Mellor, making his debut, on 65 minutes.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had picked a team with a club record average age of just 22 years and 56 days.
For large parts of the game, especially in the first half, they dominated possession, with Dylan Levitt and James Garner bossing possession.
But the Kazakhstan side went 2-1 up seven minutes after their equaliser, with rookie defender Di’Shon Bernard deflecting the ball into his own net.
It was another slice of bad luck for Ole’s youthful but talented stars.
But that is the reality of senior football — and United’s players have to learn what it is like, even if they are playing a very poor team.
Angel Gomes had a free kick tipped over by Astana stopper Nenad Eric, who then saved brilliantly at point-blank range from Mason Greenwood.
Chong was taken off after 65 minutes in Nur-Sultan and replaced by D’Mani Bughail-MellorCredit: Reuters
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
