Smalling: Europa Task Is Now Tough

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has acknowledged the Reds have “a difficult job on our hands” following Thursday’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.

Louis van Gaal’s men will have to overturn a first-leg deficit in next week’s return match at Old Trafford in order to reach the Europa League quarter-finals, after goals from Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino gave the hosts the advantage.

Smalling admits United struggled to cope with Liverpool, particularly during the first half at Anfield, but says it’s up to the players to turn the tie around.

“We’re disappointed,” he told MUTV. “I think we could have done with getting an away goal – we know we’ve got a difficult job on our hands.

“They had a lot of runners coming from midfield, and I think our wingers were having to defend a lot, so whenever we won the ball back we couldn’t really sustain it [possession] and keep it. In that first half, it was very difficult, we couldn’t get up the pitch.

"In the second half we were a little bit more comfortable, albeit without creating too many chances. We could have really done with getting that away goal. I think if you get that goal, you can be a bit more positive, but it’s now up to us to rectify it in front of our own fans. The first goal is going to be crucial.

“We’re all disappointed, but knowing we’ve now got two home games, it's up to us to take the game to West Ham [on Sunday] and then Liverpool [next Thursday].”

David De Gea made a number of excellent saves to keep Liverpool at bay and give United a chance of winning the tie overall. Smalling praised United's no.1 for his contribution, and hopes the backing of the fans will help the players when the sides meet again at Old Traffod.

“I think both of their goals were pretty fortuitous, but David did make two very good saves," he added.

“I think night games have a different edge to them and I think our fans will be right behind us. It’s down to us to deliver and put on a better performance than we did tonight. We’re obviously disappointed tonight, but we need to recover."