MANCHESTER - Manchester United have no one to blame but themselves for their shock Champions League last 16 exit after going down 2-1 to Sevilla at Old Trafford, midfielder Nemanja Matic has said.
Two late goals from French striker Wissam Ben Yedder helped the Spanish side prevail on Tuesday following a goalless draw between the teams in Spain last month.
United's performance against Sevilla was in stark contrast to their battling 2-1 Premier League win over arch-rivals Liverpool last weekend and Matic said Vincenzo Montella's side deserved to advance.
"There is no excuse," the Serb told United's website. "We had a big game ... against Liverpool and we came with high confidence to play this game, but Sevilla were better than us, so they deserved it."
United are 16 points behind league leaders Manchester City and the FA Cup represents their best chance of silverware this season. They face Brighton and Hove Albion in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
"We have to forget this, but see where we made mistakes and see where we can do better. Now we have to look to the next game, which is important for us, in the FA Cup," Matic added.
"We have to refocus on Brighton, because they are a good team and we have to win. We know that our supporters are sad because of this result, so we need to go back to winning ways."