United once again managed to make ordinary opponents look good as they limped to a hugely disappointing first leg defeat in Denmark.
There was a setback for United before a ball was kicked in earnest when David De Gea limped off in the warm-up, adding significantly to injury problems that had already seen 13 of his team mates sidelined prior to the trip to Denmark. Romero came in as a late replacement and, with Midtjylland looking an early threat on set-pieces, he had to be on his toes to save from Hansen's header early in the first half.
The United keeper was also involved in the bizarre series of events leading up to the opening goal. With the Reds defence apparently entirely absent, Kadlec found himself though on goal, but struck his shot straight at Romero's legs. United then broke and, within a minute, were in front: Lingard got free on the right and crossed for Memphis, who appeared to stumble in the box before scrambling the ball over the line.
United had got away with some poor defending then, but they didn't a minute before half-time when confusion between Herrera and Carrick in their own half let in the impressive Sisto, whose shot took a deflection off Smalling before finding the net.
United began the second half on the front foot and Lingard was unfortunate to see his shot strike the bar as the Reds pressed to regain their lead. Soon, however, a flakiness in the centre of United's team became more and more evident and Midtjylland began to create the better chances. Romero was forced to make a superb save from Onuachu's header but he could do nothing when the same player drilled past him from the edge of the box to give the home side what turned out to be the winner.
The Reds of course have a chance to overturn this deficit at Old Trafford next week, but make no mistake: this was another deeply disappointing performance from United and, had Romero not seized his rare starting opportunity so convincingly, the margin of defeat might well have been wider.
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