Juan Mata admits Manchester United go into their rearranged final Premier League game with a bad taste in their mouths after missing out on a top four spot.
United needed neighbours City to lose their last game at Swansea on Sunday to have any hope of claiming a spot in the Uefa Champions League.
But City drew 1-1 at the Liberty Stadium meaning that, barring a improbable 19-0 win over Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Tuesday, United will have to make do with a place in the Europa League.
Consequently the Bournemouth clash, which was called off on Sunday because of a bomb scare, now has little riding on it for United.
They could still climb above Southampton from sixth to fifth but the players’ attention may already been turning to Saturday’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.
Richard Jolly: In a battle for fourth, Manchester United and Manchester City enduring patterns of decline
Read more: Arsenal over Spurs and Manchester United scare on tumultuous final day
Midfielder Mata wrote in his blog for manutd.com: “We will have to close the Premier League season on Tuesday. It’s going to be a bittersweet farewell to Old Trafford, now that we know we won’t be playing the Champions League next season.
“It leaves us with a bad taste because, even if we enjoyed good moments together throughout the season, we weren’t consistent enough to qualify for the top European competition.
“It’s true that we found many difficulties along the way, especially if we talk about injuries (up to 15 players in several weeks, as far as I remember), but Manchester United must be ambitious and always fight for everything.”
Events at Old Trafford on Sunday, which saw the stadium evacuated in a full-scale security alert, took attention away from speculation over United manager Louis van Gaal’s future.
Van Gaal has been under heavy scrutiny for most of the season and there have been reports his position was dependent on whether United reached the top four or not. It remains to be seen whether Tuesday now proves to be his final game at Old Trafford or whether he continues, or if the FA Cup final may yet have a bearing.
Victory for Bournemouth, whose first season in the top flight has been a success, would lift them two places to 14th.
Van Gaal may now field a different side from that intended as he prepares for Wembley, but midfielder Marouane Fellaini is suspended.
Fans who were at OId Trafford for the original game on Sunday have been offered a refund and free entry to the rescheduled fixture, a gesture that it is estimated will cost the club £3million.
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
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TRAP
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Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
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Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
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OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded