Man Utd Trophy Drought Has Gone on Too Long, Says Dejected de Gea

David de Gea. (AP)
David de Gea. (AP)
TT
20

Man Utd Trophy Drought Has Gone on Too Long, Says Dejected de Gea

David de Gea. (AP)
David de Gea. (AP)

Manchester United have gone too many years without trophies and need a more determined collective effort to end their drought, goalkeeper David de Gea said after they crashed out of the Champions League following a defeat by Atletico Madrid.

A first-half header from Renan Lodi gave Atletico a 1-0 win on Tuesday for a 2-1 aggregate last-16 victory that extinguished United's hopes of a title this season and extended their trophy drought to five years.

"Of course it's not good enough," De Gea, who was part of the United squad that won the Europa League crown in 2017, said. "There are too many years without any trophies, even without fighting for trophies.

"We need to be clear we want to achieve good things and fight for trophies. We don't just want to play for the top four and get out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals.

"So we need much more from everyone because this club is too big for where we are now. We are far from the fighting places for the Premier League, for the Champions League, so we need much more from everyone."

United are fifth in the Premier League with 50 points from 29 games and face a daunting task to make the top four and earn a place in next year's Champions League.

"This is where we are at the moment. It's a difficult situation. We have to keep fighting. I feel very sad. But we were not good enough," De Gea said of the Atletico result.

"We are really disappointed with the result. It's difficult to put into words how we feel at the moment. We did not enough in both games to win it. It's a disappointing day for us."



Mbappe Inconsistency 'Normal', Says Real Madrid's Ancelotti

Kylian Mbappé of PSG celebrates after scoring the 0-2 goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Real Sociedad and Paris Saint-Germain, in San Sebastian, Spain, 05 March 2024. (EPA)
Kylian Mbappé of PSG celebrates after scoring the 0-2 goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Real Sociedad and Paris Saint-Germain, in San Sebastian, Spain, 05 March 2024. (EPA)
TT
20

Mbappe Inconsistency 'Normal', Says Real Madrid's Ancelotti

Kylian Mbappé of PSG celebrates after scoring the 0-2 goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Real Sociedad and Paris Saint-Germain, in San Sebastian, Spain, 05 March 2024. (EPA)
Kylian Mbappé of PSG celebrates after scoring the 0-2 goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Real Sociedad and Paris Saint-Germain, in San Sebastian, Spain, 05 March 2024. (EPA)

French superstar Kylian Mbappe's "ups and downs" are to be expected because of Real Madrid's demanding season and the nature of players of his quality, said coach Carlo Ancelotti.

The striker performed poorly against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and previous La Liga match against Real Betis, just days after scoring a hat-trick against Manchester City.

Mbappe struggled in his first few months at Madrid after joining last summer from Paris Saint-Germain before bursting into form, but his last couple of appearances have caused concern among fans.

"What we saw is that against Atletico he did not do what he did against City," Ancelotti told a news conference ahead of Rayo Vallecano's visit in La Liga on Sunday.

"Against City he scored three and against Atletico he did not score.

"I think on a general level he is doing very well and we're very happy with him, and we take into account -- and he takes into account -- that he is not always at his best level.

"The game against Atletico was not the best version of him."

Real Madrid beat their city rivals 2-1 in the first leg of the last 16 tie, with the return on Wednesday at the Metropolitano stadium.

In the play-off round against Premier League champions City, Mbappe netted four goals over the two legs as Madrid won 6-3 on aggregate.

The 26-year-old striker boasts 28 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions.

"In such a demanding season (inconsistency) is quite normal, above all in a player with such quality," said Ancelotti.

"Players with quality have more ups and downs because it's something genetic, the player that has great quality finds it harder to have consistency, and that's what happened to him in that game.

"That said he's doing very well, and if we're in the Champions League last 16, it's because he's scored four goals in the (previous) tie."

Madrid are third in La Liga, three points behind leaders Barcelona, who face Osasuna on Saturday.

Los Blancos centre-back Antonio Rudiger may miss the Rayo clash through illness, Spanish media reported.

"We're ready to fight in all games and in all competitions," continued Ancelotti, who said the defeat by Betis a week ago came because the team had little time to prepare.

"I'm much calmer ahead of the game tomorrow because we've had five days of rest."