Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 8y

Wayne Rooney: United fans should not blame Memphis Depay for draw

Wayne Rooney has insisted that Memphis Depay should not be made a scapegoat for Chelsea's late equaliser against Manchester United on Sunday as he urged fans not to blame the Dutchman.

Substitute Depay, who had only been on the pitch for four minutes, gave the ball away before Chelsea broke away and Diego Costa made the score 1-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

While manager Louis van Gaal lamented the way possession was lost, supporters turned on Depay on social media.

But captain Rooney was adamant it was not the summer signing's fault, telling reporters: "I think we're all disappointed.

"Memphis is a fantastic player and that happens, we all give bad passes away. A lot of things happened from when you give the ball away to when they've scored the goal, so I don't think we can stand here and blame Memphis.

"I think there were other things which happened and why they've scored."

Rooney felt United suffered as Chelsea applied pressure in the closing stages, explaining: "The game was broken up a bit, we gave too many free kicks away and then we couldn't get up the pitch.

"But with Chelsea, at times it's difficult, because they pushed players up front and they didn't really play with any system, so it's difficult to work out how to defend against them."

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