Potter: It's a tough one to take

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Head coach reflects on 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

Bruce Talbot

2021-04-04T21:00:00Z

Graham Potter said the defeat to Manchester United was tough to take.

Graham Potter felt Albion were unlucky to leave Old Trafford without reward after they were beaten 2-1 by Manchester United.

Danny Welbeck scored against his old club to put the visitors ahead but second-half goals by Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood kept United in second place.

Potter said, “It’s a tough one for us. In the first half we played well and carried a threat. We restricted them to not too many chances at all, but they scored from the opportunities they had.

“The quality they have has done us in the end but there are a lot of positives for us to take.”

Albion had a penalty claim turned down at 1-1 when Harry Maguire appeared to push Welbeck over as he tried to convert Neal Maupay’s pass.

“Maybe we could have had a penalty for the tackle on Danny, but we got pushed back a bit more than we would have liked in the second half and missed some opportunities to attack when we could.

“Live I thought it was a penalty but, watching it back, maybe you can see why it isn’t clear and obvious to overrule it. If [referee] Mike Dean does give a penalty I don’t think it gets overruled either. It’s one of those. You need everything to go your way when you come here.

“We had a good balance in the first half because when you come here you have to defend deep at times, but you want to do it high if you can.

“United drove us back in the second half. I don’t think it was a conscious thing, it’s just one of those things that happen.

“Over the course of the game we did a lot well, but when you’re 1-0 up you want to try and hold on and get something. On another day we could have done that. We just need to move forward to the last eight games and get the points we need.”