“Yes that was our tactic” - Viktoria Plzen coach opens up on asking his players to target one Manchester United star in Europa League clash

FC Viktoria Plzen manager Miroslav Koubek admitted to targetting Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana during the two sides' Europa League clash on Thursday, December 12. The former Czech goalkeeper revealed that he instructed his players to take a shot at the goal at every 'viable' opportunity.

Speaking to the media after the 2-1 loss to Manchester United, Koubek said putting Onana under pressure was one of their tactics going into the game. He believed it worked to a certain extent as they got the opener through an error from the goalkeeper. He said (via SportBible):

"Yes that was our tactic. I told them to shoot from every viable opportunity - maybe I'm disappointed with the very last shot - that could have been resolved better. But the player decided to shoot and it is what it is."

Manchester United defeated Viktoria Plzen 2-1 thanks to a brace from Rasmus Hojlund. They had gone 1-0 down before halftime after an error from Andre Onana gifted the home side a goal.

Manchester United star Andre Onana aware of his mistake but not the only one to blame

Owen Hargraves and Bruno Fernandes showed support for Andre Onana after his mistake against Viktoria Plzen. The former Manchester United midfielder claimed that it was not just the goalkeeper who was at fault and said on TNT Sports:

“Both Andre Onana and Matthijs de Ligt could be at fault there, but Onana a little bit more. De Ligt really didn’t want the ball. In the end, Onana plays a poor pass. But Ruben Amorim wants his centre-backs to go in there and receive the ball. De Ligt is not comfortable receiving it on the half turn and Onana plays a poor ball and on the wrong side. It’s difficult position for a centre-back to be in, [But] if the manager tells you to do something, you are going to do it.”

Meanwhile, Fernandes came out in support of the goalkeeper and stated that the goalkeeper was aware of his error but had the backing of the whole squad. He said (via EuroSport):

"We have huge belief in Andre. He knows he made a mistake, he’s a clever guy. We don’t need to tell him. He’s going to help many times coming out from the back. We trust his qualities on the ball. It’s something that we normally do. It’s something that normally works, we did it many times in the first half and they couldn't get near to our players or Andre either. Mistakes will happen."

Manchester United face Manchester City this weekend and will be hoping that the goalkeeper does not make another mistake after committing two in two games.