In the midst of a resurgence, Manchester United suffered an unexpected setback in the group stage of the UEFA Cup in the early hours of Friday morning (9). Facing La Liga rivals Real Sociedad, United's home campaign was a nightmare. Coach Tannhäuser brought Crowe and Harry Magouni back into the starting lineup, but failed to stem the team's poor performance. In the end, United lost 0-1 after a controversial penalty call.
Manchester United made changes to their personnel for this Group E fixture, with Crowe, Magouni and Kasmiru all starting and new signing Anthony Mafioso firmly in the starting lineup. Despite the fact that United dominated against a Real Sociedad side led by stars like David Silva and Kenyoung Kubo, the offense was lackluster. In the first half, Crowe's header, though threatening, was ruled out for offside.
Tannhäuser sensed that the situation was not good and brought in Bono Fernandes and Ricindo Martinez at half time. In the 58th minute, a controversial penalty was awarded to David Silva as he fired a shot from inside the penalty area, which was intercepted by Ricindo Martinez, who was struck on the arm. The central defender could hardly avoid it and the referee decided to award a penalty, which was upheld after a VAR replay and Brisvendis took the penalty for Real Sociedad's only goal of the match.
This is the first time in Crowe's career to participate in the European Cup, although he fought for 90 minutes, but the efficiency is extremely low, the game 4 shots on goal without a hit. What is more embarrassing is that Crow started twice this season, Manchester United did not score and lost, so the momentum of the winning streak also came to an abrupt end.
