Leicester City’s inability to maintain possession handed Manchester United too many opportunities in their Carabao Cup clash on Wednesday night, as Steve Cooper’s side fell to a 5-2 defeat at Old Trafford.
Despite the final scoreline, Cooper felt it was a performance marred less by poor defending and more by City’s habit of conceding possession cheaply, gifting momentum to United in critical moments.
City conceded five goals, with elements of misfortune and impressive United finishing, though even former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy admitted, “United had luck on their side.”
Leicester allowed United 23 shots, a figure they have only exceeded in a game against Arsenal this season. Cooper, however, was quick to defend his side’s overall performance, suggesting the real issue lay in their careless ball retention.
“We’re just frustrated with how the night’s gone,” Cooper explained.
“It wasn’t an environment that was intimidating at all. It was okay, it was good to play in.”
Cooper had anticipated a more intense atmosphere, especially as it was United’s first game since Erik ten Hag’s departure, but he was struck by the relatively subdued crowd at Old Trafford.
“We did talk about how there might be something different in the air tonight, but it wasn’t an absolutely fully-blown atmosphere. It was quite calm.”
This calmness was reflected in Leicester’s occasional moments of control, but Cooper remained disappointed by the result. He felt his team struggled to maintain balance between their attacking spells and the lapses that led to United’s goals.
“That’s where the frustration is,” he said.
“We can’t play like we have done in phases of the past two games and then give away moments like we have done. That is an imbalance. We’ve got to work hard to shore that up.”
Cooper noted that the issues weren’t limited to the defenders alone but were a consequence of the whole team’s play.
“It’s not just the defenders. It’s everybody really. At times it’s not so much the defending but how we turn the ball over. United’s front four are really strong, but they’re at their best when counter-attacking and we’ve handed them counter-attack moments.”
Reflecting on the match, Cooper concluded, “I’m not saying we deserved to win tonight, but we didn’t deserve to lose 5-2.”
City will now refocus on their Premier League campaign, with an upcoming fixture against Ipswich Town on Saturday. However, Cooper won’t be on the touchline at Portman Road, as his third yellow card of the season, received at Old Trafford, has earned him a one-match suspension.