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          Man United's 'comical, laughable' defending ridiculed after Champions League loss

          • Chris Wright, Toe Poke writerNov 5, 2020, 06:39 AM ET

          Manchester United slumped to an embarrassing defeat in Europe on Wednesday evening, losing 2-1 at Istanbul Basaksehir -- a team only formed in 1990.

          JUMP TO: Premier League unveils new high-vis ball

          Basaksehir went into the game having never won in the Champions League before, and sitting mid-table in the Turkish league, but took just 12 minutes to lay the first blow on United through former Chelsea striker Demba Ba.

          - Fernandes, Matic 4/10 as United suffer shock defeat

          Oddly, Basaksehir actually managed to open the scoring from a United corner, with a quick transition and counter-attack soon exposing the fact that the visiting defence had all -- to a man -- abandoned their posts.

          As you might imagine, the immediate reaction from fans, onlookers and ex-United players on social media was fairly merciless.

          Rio Ferdinand led the critics on Twitter, before exclaiming on BT Sport that "you wouldn't see this [level of defending] on Hackney Marshes" while chastising United's chaotic back four.

          Co-pundit Paul Scholes also weighed in, lambasting the lack of organisation on show. "Embarrassing. What the defence were doing I have no idea," the former United midfielder grumbled. "The goal is comical, laughable. That can only be a player's fault -- that's not down to the staff or the coaches."

          United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer branded the goal "unforgivable," adding that he'd never seen anything like it before.

          However, for some, Ba's breakaway conjured images of the climactic stages of the 2013-14 Premier League title race, and one piece of unfortunate botched man-marking in particular.

          Of course, it's worth remembering that the simple act of staying goal-side is one of the very first lessons taught to aspiring defenders. Many compared United's defending (or lack thereof) to watching a youth team in action, though some felt that was unfair on the kids in question.

          And it's not like things were much better for Istanbul's second goal of the night either, with United's defence once again left all at sea as an unencumbered Edin Visca found himself in hectares of space to roll home another for the home side.

          Anthony Martial did manage to pull one back for United two minutes before the interval, only for the visitors to then spend the entire second half treading water as their 10-game away winning streak came to an unceremonious end in the Turkish capital.

          Perhaps the most damning aspect of the entire performance was that it led some to mourn the sale of Marouane Fellaini some 10 months ago.

          And to top off a thoroughly awful night for United, in a postmatch tweet they used the Europa League hashtag rather than the Champions League. Maybe they are getting some practice in for next season?

          Premier League unveils new high-vis ball

          Coming a little too late for United's hapless defence, the Premier League have announced that their new high-visibility official match ball will be rolled out toward the end of the month.

          Just as the nights begin to draw in, the air takes on a distinct chill and leaves start to fall, the swapping of the top-flight ball signals the onset of the autumn and winter months.

          The new Nike Hi-Vis Flight is set to take over duties from its standard white counterpart from Nov. 21. Just one weekend left of the classic little number.