Manchester United arrive back in England dejected after late-night flight following shock Champions League exit against Wolfsburg
- Manchester United were knocked out of the Champions League after being beaten by Wolfsburg on Tuesday night
- Louis van Gaal's squad flew back to Manchester immediately after the game, landing in England in the early hours
- Disappointed players looked tired and dejected as they left Manchester Airport after defeat in Germany sealed fate
- Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and former manager Sir Alex Ferguson were also seen leaving the airport
- United will now prepare for life in the Europa League and Saturday's Barclays Premier League visit to Bournemouth
- Manchester United crash out of Champions League: Twitter users mock Louis van Gaal and Co
Manchester United headed straight home from Germany in the early hours of Wednesday morning after their embarrassing group stage exit from the Champions League was sealed with a 3-2 defeat by Wolfsburg.
Louis van Gaal's bleary-eyed squad were back at Manchester Airport as the news began to sink in that they will be playing their post-New Year European football in the Europa League.
United were left needing a victory with Group B rivals PSV Eindhoven beating CSKA Moscow but despite netting an 82nd-minute equaliser with a Josuha Guilavogui own goal, their young, frail defence conceded again to seal their third-place fate.
Manchester United arrived in England after their defeat in Wolfsburg with Anthony Martial and Louis van Gaal keen on a quick getaway
Memphis Depay and Juan Mata make their way out of Manchester Airport's arrivals area, with some fans staying up late to meet the players
Captain on the night Chris Smalling and midfielder Marouane Fellaini, sporting red trainers with his suit, get back on to home turf
Former manager Sir Alex Ferguson was also seen at Manchester Airport, as was the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward
Jesse Lingard and Daley Blind started on the night as United's Champions League fate was sealed with defeat at the Volkswagen Arena
Ashley Young was not required to come off the bench in Germany, although young defender Cameron Borthwick-Jackson did get a chance
The early exit, a year on from when United failed to even qualify for the competition, comes as a huge embarrassment for a team that has had more than £200million spent on it during Van Gaal's 16-month reign as manager.
Goalscorer Anthony Martial and captain Chris Smalling were among the group pictured arriving back in England, with some staunch supporters still staying up late to catch a glimpse of their faltering heroes at the airport.
Van Gaal led the travelling party which also included executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
United's premature exit from the competition comes with even more frustration given they had their fate in their own hands for so much of the group stage. They were top with two games to go when they beat CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford but a tame home draw with PSV Eindhoven set up this week's showdown where they failed to live up to their billing.
Summer signing Martial had calmed nerves by giving the visitors the lead inside the opening 10 minutes from Juan Mata's pass but Naldo hit back with a smart volley just three minutes later and Wolfsburg led when Vieirinha finished a flowing move before the half-hour mark.
Van Gaal threw on Nick Powell and Michael Carrick in search of a late equaliser and a stroke of luck provided it when Josuha Guilavogui headed into his own net under pressure from Marouane Fellaini, but Naldo netted again two minutes later to cap an awful night for United.
Nick Powell was thrown on in a desperate attempt to attack Wolfsburg, but Matteo Darmian had to come off with an injury in the first half
Back-up goalkeeper Sergio Romero exits the airport following one of the worst nights of Van Gaal's time as manager at United
Michael Carrick and Depay show their disappointment out on the pitch at the Volkswagen Arena, knowing they had been knocked out
The dejected United players make their way off the pitch at full-time with their Champions League return finished before Christmas
Assistant manager Ryan Giggs applauds the travelling supporters who had been given false hope by Martial's first-half opener in Germany
Dutch boss Van Gaal, a Champions League winner with Ajax in 1994-95, admitted he was unable to defend himself given the nature of his side's early exit but bizarrely maintained that they were making progress.
United showed the sort of attacking verve that has been lacking from recent games in the first half but they were picked apart by Wolfsburg in defence, most notably by playmaker Julian Draxler in a fantastic passing move for the second goal.
'At the moment I cannot defend myself because we are out of the Champions League. Every one word that I say is the wrong word,' Van Gaal said.
'But when you see the facts we went further in the Capital One Cup, qualified for Champions League group, we have played all these matches, and are still in a very good position in the league.
'The facts say we are better than last year. That's my answer because I can only give facts.
'This year it cannot be. I've said that to the players. Now it's over in the Champions League. They cannot show your qualities anymore in Champions League. It's the highest podium and you can't do that. They have to wait until next year. It's a pity but we have a lot to fight for – the FA Cup and the Premier League.'
He added: 'Of course, it is a step backwards but you have seen today also a lot of youngsters who played very well in my opinion.
‘This was a tight group so I am not agreeing without opinion that this was an easy group.
‘You see with the results that we’ve had, and also our competitors, that it is not what you think – that it is always Manchester United who finish the group as first or second.
Van Gaal reacts at the Volkswagen Arena after his side were knocked out of the Champions League by finishing third in their group
Van Gaal maintained that he had to field a young side and there were a number of academy products present due to injuries elsewhere
United finished third in the group behind Tuesday night's victors Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven, who defeated CSKA Moscow in Holland
‘I have to say that we were not so lucky in a match today with the decisions of the referee. When the group is tight, those kind of decisions can decide whether you go through or not.
‘It was a crazy match. We haven’t scored for a few matches and in an away match we score two goals – maybe three but one was cancelled out.
‘But two times we give away a goal within two minutes of scoring. That’s difficult to understand when you defend so well normally.'
United return to Barclays Premier League action on Saturday in the late kick-off away at newly-promoted Bournemouth and Fellaini called for better defending to make sure domestic form does not suffer following disappointment on the continent.
Two-goal Wolfsburg hero Naldo celebrates with the German club's supporters at full-time after their 3-2 victory over United on Tuesday
Naldo's second goal, Wolfsburg's third, was a sucker-punch for a side who have struggled for goals of late under Van Gaal's leadership
The Belgium international playing in holding midfield alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger with Morgan Schneiderlin missing through injury and he could be called upon again at the Vitality Stadium.
'They scored three goals, two from set pieces, so I think we should have defended better - more tight and more aggressive,' Fellaini said.
'It is difficult for us and we are disappointed. We can look back... we should have won against PSV in the first game in Holland and then we drew against PSV at home. But we now have to forget this disappointment, pick ourselves up very quickly and focus on the next game.'
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