Man Utd ace Donny van de Beek accepts blame after latest questionable performance

In pictures: Man Utd v Young Boys

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Donny van de Beek has conceded that he should have cleared the ball after gifting Young Boys a brilliant equaliser in last night’s final Champions League group game at Old Trafford. With the Red Devils already through to the last 16, Ralf Rangnick needed no second invitation to make a whole host of changes to his starting XI following the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in a bid to freshen things up and take a look at some of the club’s younger players.

One of those was the introduction of Van de Beek, who is looking to kickstart his United career following the sacking of former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who brought him to the club for £34million in 2020.

The former Ajax man scored the final goal of the Solskjaer tenure in the 4-1 defeat at Watford before earning a start last time out in the Champions League against Villarreal under Michael Carrick.

Yet on Wednesday night, Van de Beek failed to seize his opportunity against the Swiss side after starting in central midfield for Rangnick.

He was seemingly lacking confidence and rhythm before gaving the ball away for Young Boys’ equaliser.

After receiving the ball on the edge of his own box, Van de Beek passed the ball straight to Fabian Rieder, who took a few touches before smashing home into the top corner from 20 yards.

Van de Beek was keen to admit he was in the wrong in his post-match interview, shouldering the blame for the result with an honest admission.

“Maybe I should kick it away,” he told Man United’s website. “I didn’t do that I take responsibility for that, after that it was a little bit difficult.

“We didn’t get enough pressure on them, we lost too many balls and it’s difficult to come into the game.”

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United still managed to finish top of their group, meaning they will now face Atletico Madrid, Benfica, RB Salzburg, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain or Sporting in the Round of 16.

Van de Beek sees no reason why United should fear anyone in the competition, stating they will have to be at their best whoever they face in order to progress.

“I think all the teams in this stage of the Champions League, everyone is strong so I think we have to watch ourselves and we have to be top,” the midfielder added.

“I think with the players we have we can beat everyone. But what I said, we have to work hard every day and I believe we can beat everyone if we play well.”

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The 24-year-old could seek a January exit if his game time in the Premier League does not improve in the next few weeks.

A number of clubs including Everton are thought to have enquired about the loan signing of Van de Beek last summer but Solskjaer put the brakes on any move.

Now it will be up to Rangnick to determine whether there is a future for Van de Beek at United until a new permanent manager comes in.

The German has been keen to wipe the slate clean for all of his squad so far and Van de Beek is understood to be keen to turn his United career around – as opposed to jumping ship.

That said, he wants to be a regular for the Netherlands by the time the World Cup in Qatar comes around next December.

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