David Moyes called the loss to Chelsea a combination of a lack of luck and terrible defending after Manchester United suffered yet another high-profile defeat in the English Premier League.
United, despite starting the better in the first half, were 2-0 down at halftime, thanks to Samuel Eto'o, who would then go on and complete his hat-trick early in the second 45. Javier Hernandez scored a consolation goal for the away side at Stamford Bridge, but scant consolation it proved to be considering the nature of the defeat.
"I would [say we were unlucky to be 2-0 down at half-time]," Moyes said. "We were unlucky with the first goal, but the other two that were from set-pieces were our fault. It was terrible defending for the second goal and just as bad as the one just after halftime.
"I thought we played quite well at times, especially during the first period of the game. We had a couple of chances but we lacked that bit [extra], we just needed someone to take the chances."
The loss means United are now a daunting 14 points behind Arsenal, with a sizeable six points also separating the English Premier League champions from fourth-placed Liverpool.
Moyes, though, refused to rule out United's chances of defending their title, let alone a fight for the Champions League places. "[Top of the league] is a long way away but we'll never say it's gone for us," he said. "We'll do our best to get out of it if we can. I keep saying the best thing you can do is go and win your next game and we'll try and do that."
United's please-let's-just-get-out-of-here night was compounded when Nemanja Vidic was sent off for a late challenge on Eden Hazard, a sending off which Moyes felt was rather harsh. Not that it made any difference to the result, of course, but it does rule the skipper out of the Capital One Cup semifinal second leg against Sunderland, which United trail 2-1.
"I don't think it was a sending off," Moyes said. "Maybe a bit of tiredness crept in towards the end when Hazard tried to go past him, but I don't think it was a red card."
