“We want to play from the back and everyone knows that then we have to make the right decision on the pitch,” added Fernandes.
“Andre [Onana] thought that Matta [De Ligt] could get on the ball but he missed it and they scored a goal.”
United are not alone in looking to build their play from the back, with that style of play having been on the rise over the last few years.
When it works, it is a strong way of playing through the press. When it fails, it often fails spectacularly.
Ruben Amorim, like many modern managers, likes possession-based football with the goalkeeper preferred to play short passes rather than hitting it long.
De Ligt was identified as a player who might struggle playing Amorim’s way and some of the blame for Viktoria Plzen’s goal was also directed at the defender.
“It’s both of their fault,” former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves said.
“De Ligt doesn’t really want it, which is why he goes back, but he’s got to go to the ball so they can get it out wide.
“Amorim wants his centre-backs to go in there to receive the ball. It’s a difficult position to be in.”
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Karen Carney added: “For the Viktoria Plzen goal it is a slow ball into the feet of Andre Onana by Lisandro Martinez and what he is then saying to De Ligt is to come short. If they do that he can bounce it out the other side and avoid the high press.
“But De Ligt is on his back foot and he doesn’t want the ball, he is too slow to react and then it is an error.”
