Shortly after shushing Copenhagen fans, Alejandro Garnacho breaks down in tears on the field.

Alejandro Garnacho, a teenage player for Manchester United, teared up too soon on Wednesday night after making fun of the Copenhagen supporters.

Before Manchester United suffered a devastating late defeat in the Champions League, Alejandro Garnacho directed his criticism against the fans of Copenhagen.

Erik ten Hag gave the 19-year-old Argentina international a start in United’s fourth group match, with three points crucial after losses to Galatasaray and Bayern Munich earlier in the season. Rasmus Hojlund’s brace gave them a commanding early lead, but Marcus Rashford’s red card cost them.

Following a penalty kick by Bruno Fernandes, Mohamed Elyounoussi and Diogo Gonclaves tied the score, but Garnacho silenced the home crowd. Lukas Lerager and Roony Bardghji then made the visitors pay. The focus then returned to the home support system in Denmark’s capital, which had obviously aged horribly.

After United’s one victory in four games, they were left at the bottom of Group A and needed a miracle to advance. Garnacho then appeared to be the most dejected player on the field.

He sat on the field, comforted by his playing colleagues and the coaching staff, but he may have learnt a vital lesson about taking pride in one’s achievements too soon.

Ten Hag saw Rashford’s red card as the game’s pivotal moment, with United appearing likely to qualify while they were up.

“I think first we played very good until the red card,” he stated on TNT Sports. Everything changed after the red card. It then turns into a separate game. We give up two goals that are not worth scoring. It is depressing.

Not just this evening. In other games, we have to cope with a lot of judgments that go against us. That’s the reality. But it’s a lengthy season. It will eventually work in our advantage.

“That was a tough choice. He had his eye on the ball. After the review was finished, he approached the screen. It seemed like the referee was unsure.

“Though things improved after the break, the two goals shouldn’t have counted. In the first, Onana is in front of a player who is offside. Second, is there anything you can do about that?

“I observed a lot of good things, but ultimately we become distracted. Playing for so long with 10 men is difficult.

“From my perspective, that was the best 20 minutes I’ve seen. We were still in control of the game even with ten. It is really disheartening. We played so well and fought so hard. We still lack a single point.”