Dieter Hecking Rues 'S--t' Manchester United Goal, Morgan Schneiderlin Let-off

Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking was not overly impressed with Manchester United's second goal, and eventual winner, in the German side's 2-1 defeat to the Red Devils in the Champions League on Wednesday.

He also believes United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin should have received a second yellow card for a foul he committed late on as Wolfsburg pressed hard for an equaliser.

Juan Mata followed up his equalising first-half penalty—following Daniel Caligiuri's early opener—with a deft back-heeled flick over Wolfsburg's defence which allowed Chris Smalling to slide in for United's second soon after half-time. 

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But for Hecking, it was an unacceptable goal for his side to concede, per MailOnline's Ben Grounds:

"

I think it was a penalty but that we were unlucky there. And I thought the second goal was unlucky - as we say in Germany, a "s*** goal" - but then we were on top again and really could and perhaps should have scored again. 

In the 84th minute there was a foul on Julian Draxler that really should have been another yellow card (for Morgan Schneiderlin), so once again we just lacked that bit of luck at the end. But I'm optimistic we can build on this strong performance.

"

While Wolfsburg's defence were undoubtedly caught out by Mata's ingenious piece of skill, the former Nurnberg manager's criticism seemed somewhat harsh.

The goal was widely praised in most quarters with football writer Miguel Delaney pithily summarising the general reaction:

However, Hecking had cause for grievance in relation to Schneiderlin's continued presence on the pitch late on in the game. 

Following a period of dominance either side of half-time, United were pushed back as they looked to preserve their lead.

The final 20 minutes were completely dominated by Wolfsburg, who swept forward in search of an equaliser and forced Schneiderlin—an inexperienced Champions League player—into numerous mistakes and reckless challenges.

The France international could very easily have been given his marching orders late on for a foul on Draxler which would have left United under even more pressure in the dying minutes, per the Sunday Times' Duncan Castles:

Schneiderlin stayed on, though, and Louis van Gaal's side saw out the game to pick up their first three points of the 2015-16 Champions League campaign.

With CSKA Moscow beating PSV Eindhoven 3-2 on Wednesday, all four members of Group B are now level with three points each.

United now face back-to-back clashes with the Russian outfit, while Wolfsburg hope to take maximum points from their consecutive games against PSV. 

The next time Wolfsburg and United meet will be at the Volkswagen Arena on the final matchday on December 8 in a potentially vital clash in terms of qualification to the knockout rounds.