Manchester United failed to return to winning ways after managing only a draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions league group stages.
They could only manage a 1-1 draw away to the Ukrainian club after conceding late. This result leaves United at the top of the table, but the gap between them and the rest of the teams in the group is extremely close. United were without star striker Wayne Rooney, who was left out of the matchday squad because of an injury. Rooney and Robin van Persie have been the major goal threat for United.
They certainly struggled to create many chances without one of them on the pitch. Despite this, England international Danny Welbeck opened the scoring in the 18th minute. This was also goal for the club, which had just experienced back-to-back defeats in the league. It looked like they were going to get three points until the 75th minute. The big blow for David Moyes came in the form of a 76th minute goal from Taison. This is the way the game finished in the end, which meant United had to be satisfied with only a point.
Bayern Leverkusen managed to win the other group match, which helped them close the gap to United. Shakhtar Donetsk and United are level on points with each other.
“There was a bit of disappointment we didn’t see game out. But Shakhtar are a good team, with a great reputation, so I don’t think it was too bad a result. We never play for a draw we play to win. But the players knew it was going to be a tough game and we defended very well for the majority of it. It wasn’t the most exciting game, both teams had three points before the match and I think we both wanted to make sure we got something from the game,” said Moyes.