Manchester United fans have staunchly defended Kobbie Mainoo and said they “feel so bad” for him after his huge mistake in the 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday.
Ex-United boss David Moyes walked away with the ultimate bragging rights from the Premier League clash, with Erik ten Hag’s men offering very little in the second half.
Jarrod Bowen broke the deadlock at the London Stadium in the 72nd minute before Mohammed Kudus doubled West Ham’s lead six minutes later against United.
Mainoo, who has been a revelation for United this season, impressed with his performance against West Ham before the match took an ugly turn for him.
The 18-year-old midfielder had a slight lapse of concentration in the second half, as the ball slid under his foot and Lucas Paqueta pounced on the opportunity.
Paqueta released Kudus and the West Ham star proceeded to beat Andre Onana to seal a 2-0 win, with Ten Hag’s side suffering their eighth league defeat this season.
READ MORE: Man Utd fans all agree on Willy Kambwala after debut ends in defeat to West Ham
Mainoo’s United performance overlooked by mistake
Mainoo started in the midfield alongside Scott McTominay against West Ham, with United prospect Willy Kambwala receiving his Premier League debut under Ten Hag.
The United star has impressed since his Premier League debut against Everton last month, with Mainoo earning rave reviews after his emergence in the club’s first team.
Mainoo was superb in his performance against West Ham and looked solid in midfield, exhibiting his calm and composed presence in midfield during the first half.
However, the United player’s display was overshadowed by his mistake, with fans later taking to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to staunchly defend him.
United fans’ reaction to Mainoo’s error
“Feel sorry for Kobbie Mainoo. He’s been incredible in this [match]. Got caught in two minds,” one fan said.
Another added: “Feel bad for Kobbie [he] has been solid today also.”
Someone else commented: “Bad mistake from Kobbie, but I don’t care [as] he’s our future. I’m defending him to the [hill]. The problem here is there’s absolutely no attacking output.”
While a fourth tweeted: “Damn, not Kobbie Mainoo. I feel so bad for him!”
And a fifth posted: “Feel for Kobbie [because] you can see that the mistake hurt him. He was pretty much excellent besides that, too.”
“Kobbie has been class. One mistake should not make [us] forget,” one fan argued.
A seventh wrote: “Kobbie Mainoo has been flawless since coming into the team this season, and that mistake is only going to be a learning curve for him. Head up, kid.”
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