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

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



Nice Extends Great Home Run with 3-2 Win over Plucky Rennes

Rennes's midfielder #75 Seko Fofana passes the ball next to Nice's Ivorian forward #29 Evann Guessand during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and Stade Rennais Football Club at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Frederic DIDES / AFP)
Rennes's midfielder #75 Seko Fofana passes the ball next to Nice's Ivorian forward #29 Evann Guessand during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and Stade Rennais Football Club at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Frederic DIDES / AFP)
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Nice Extends Great Home Run with 3-2 Win over Plucky Rennes

Rennes's midfielder #75 Seko Fofana passes the ball next to Nice's Ivorian forward #29 Evann Guessand during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and Stade Rennais Football Club at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Frederic DIDES / AFP)
Rennes's midfielder #75 Seko Fofana passes the ball next to Nice's Ivorian forward #29 Evann Guessand during the French L1 football match between OGC Nice and Stade Rennais Football Club at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern France, on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Frederic DIDES / AFP)

Nice beat Rennes 3-2 to move into fourth place in Ligue 1 on Friday.
Both sides produced chance after chance in an entertaining match and it was the home side which took the lead after 12 minutes, The Associated Press reported.
Tanguy Ndombélé’s superb lofted pass put Evann Guessand through on goal and he held off a grappling defender to side-foot the opener.
Arnaud Kalimuendo equalized after 27 minutes for Rennes but Sofiane Diop put the home side ahead again seven minutes later when he picked up a poor pass by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and fired home.
Former Rennes player Gaëtan Laborde made it 3-1 in first-half stoppage time with the aid of a neat assist from Guessand.
The visitor got a goal back three minutes into the second half when the keeper spilled a long-range shot and Adrien Truffert followed up to poke into the empty net.
Both sides pushed for more goals but Nice held on, even after Pablo Rosario was sent off in stoppage time for a high tackle.
The result preserved Nice’s unbeaten home record and lifted it on to 27 points, equal with Lille and two points ahead of Lyon.
Rennes remained 12th.