David de Gea says there have been “too many years without trophies” after Manchester United’s Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid extended their silverware drought to five years.

Renan Lod scored the only goal for Diego Simeone’s sidei at Old Trafford to hand Atletico a 2-1 aggregate victory.

United have not won a trophy since Jose Mourinho guided them to the Europa League in 2016-17.

“Of course it’s not good enough,” said United keeper De Gea.

“There are too many years without any trophies, even without fighting for trophies.

“We need to be clear we want to achieve good things and fight for trophies. We don’t just want to play for the top four and get out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals.

“So we need much more from everyone because this club is too big for where we are now. We are far from the fighting places for the Premier League, for the Champions League, so we need much more from everyone.”

United have now been knocked out in six of their past eight Champions League knockout-stage ties.

They face a significant contest to qualify for next season’s competition – as they are fifth in the Premier League, one point below Arsenal, who have three games in hand.

De Gea added that there was frustration with United’s overall performance.

He said: “This is where we are at the moment. It’s a difficult situation. We have to keep fighting. I feel very sad. But we were not good enough.

“We are really disappointed with the result. It’s difficult to put into words how we feel now at the moment. We did not enough in both games to win it. It’s a very disappointing day for us.”

Defeat raised the question of whether Tuesday’s match will prove to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last appearance in the Champions League.

Ronaldo, 37, is the tournament’s all-time top scorer and has lifted the trophy five times, first doing so with United in 2007-08 before winning it four times with Real Madrid.

He failed to have a shot during Tuesday’s defeat.

Former England winger Chris Waddle, a BBC Radio 5 Live pundit at Old Trafford, said: “I did not get Cristiano Ronaldo’s role tonight, coming into midfield. I didn’t get that. There was nothing in the box so if you do cross it, there is nobody there.”

‘It was easy for time-wasting antics’

United’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick bemoaned Atletico’s tactics in the second half and also questioned the officials, feeling there was a foul on Anthony Elanga in the build-up to the game’s only goal.

“Against a team like Atletico, it is highly important you score the first goal yourself,” said Rangnick. “If you don’t do that, it is even more important not to concede a goal.

“One minute before half-time, we conceded that goal in a transitional moment.

“I believe there was a foul on Anthony Elanga before that but the linesman and referee did not see it that way – I think we shouldn’t have been 1-0 down at half time, I think we were the better team in the first half.”

Rangnick added: “In the second half, I don’t know if the game was played for more than two minutes without somebody lying on the floor.

“I think there were some curious refereeing decisions. I wouldn’t necessarily say they were decisive, maybe the one before they scored, but I think the referee made it pretty easy for Atletico to do their time-wasting antics and that didn’t make it any easier for us.

“It was frustrating and difficult for us in the second half. From normal play, we didn’t produce that many chances.”

Atletico coach Simeone was, however, full of praise for his team’s commitment.

“This team will dive into a swimming pool whether there is water in it or not,” he said. “When the team works as a team like this, it excites me. We were competitive.

“The goal gave us the advantage and in the second half there was brilliant collective work, one of the best this season, which leaves me happy.”

‘Man Utd need cleaning out’

Waddle says the club needs “cleaning out” and have a lot of rebuilding to do.

“Thomas Tuchel has been mentioned as the potential next manager of Manchester United, because of the state Chelsea are in, but will he look at it and think ‘wow, this is a massive job, where do we start?’,”

“It needs cleaning out. They need a scouting system, they need a youth system again. It is basically starting from scratch. They have let themselves run and thought money would bail them out, and it hasn’t.

“They need to start from the beginning, get the right personnel in and you are talking years before they will be able to compete with Manchester City.

“Manchester United have got a lot of rebuilding to do. They have got to put their focus on getting into the top four and make sure of Champions League football next season.”

Formula 1’s safety car rules have been changed to make it impossible for a race to be conducted in the manner of 2021’s controversial title decider.

Michael Masi was removed from his role as race director last month as a result of failing to apply the rules correctly in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Masi’s actions had a direct result on the outcome of the world championship.

Governing body the FIA has now made it clear “all” lapped cars must un-lap themselves before a restart.

The change replaces the phrasing in last year’s rules, which said “any” lapped cars between the leaders should overtake and join the back of the field before a restart after a safety car.

Masi’s decision to allow only the cars between race leader Lewis Hamilton and title rival Max Verstappen to un-lap before a restart was at the heart of the Abu Dhabi controversy.

It meant not all drivers in the field were treated equally – as lapped cars between Verstappen and third-placed Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, and others further down the field, were left in place.

McLaren’s Lando Norris said the climax to the race had been “made for TV” and his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo added: “I’m glad I wasn’t part of that.”

Hamilton had dominated the race and was on his way to an eighth world title. But after the restart the Mercedes driver was left exposed on old tyres and passed by Verstappen’s Red Bull, earning the Dutchman a maiden championship.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team used this as an argument that Masi had not erred in his procedures and the result should stand. And the stewards also used it to retro-fit a justification for Masi’s actions and keep the outcome in place after Mercedes lodged an appeal after the race.

The second rule at the heart of the Abu Dhabi controversy has been left unchanged.

This is the requirement the race must be restarted “at the end of the following lap” after the message is relayed that lapped cars may now overtake.

Masi ignored this rule and restarted the race at the end of the lap on which he had ordered only some lapped cars to pass the leaders.

Had he followed the rules as intended on this aspect, the race would not have restarted and Hamilton would have been world champion.

The rule changes are the latest in a series of moves by the FIA that amount to an effective admission Masi made mistakes in his handling of the Abu Dhabi race.

The first was the admission that the controversy was “tarnishing the image” of F1 and the decision to launch an inquiry into what had happened.

After conducting the inquiry, Masi was removed as race director and replaced by two two new officials who will alternate in the role, Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich.

And the support structure in race control was beefed up, including the establishment of a department similar to football’s video assistant referee (VAR) and the return of F1 veteran Herbie Blash in an advisory role to the race directors.

Blash, 73, was the right-hand man of former FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting, whose death on the eve of the 2019 season led to Masi being appointed race director.

A full report into the events of Abu Dhabi is expected to be published during this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

It is widely accepted within F1 that Masi did not follow the rules correctly.

The closest there has been to an explicit admission of that fact by the FIA has been an interview by executive director of single-seaters Peter Bayer.

He said that, had Mercedes pursued their appeal, it would likely have been decided that “it’s different in the regulations, he [Masi] decided that [other] way, so we could just void the result”

Had the race been declared void, Verstappen would still have been champion as he started the event ahead in the championship by virtue of results count back.

Chelsea have asked for Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors because their fans can no longer buy tickets.

The government issued a licence to allow Chelsea to continue playing after freezing the assets of Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

Under the terms, Chelsea are not allowed to sell tickets

to any matches.

Middlesbrough said they will challenge the “bizarre” and “ironic” request “in the strongest possible terms”.

The Football Association will make a decision on Wednesday.

Championship club Middlesbrough, who have knocked out Premier League sides Manchester United and Tottenham in this year’s competition, said the request was “without any merit whatsoever”.

“To suggest as a result that MFC and our fans should be penalised is not only grossly unfair but without any foundation,” read a Middlesbrough statement.

Chelsea Supporters Trust asked the club to withdraw the request, saying it “does not benefit” any fans.

Chelsea want to maintain ‘sporting integrity’

Chelsea had sold between 500 and 600 tickets of their 4,620 allocation before the licence placing restrictions on the club came into effect on 10 March.

The measure was introduced to stop oligarch Abramovich, who is looking to sell Chelsea , from profiting.

He has been banned from being a club director and the sale of Chelsea has been delayed after the UK government sanctioned him over his connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Chelsea said they made the request “with extreme reluctance” to the FA not to allow fans of either side at the Riverside “for matters of sporting integrity”.

A statement read: “Chelsea FC recognises that such an outcome would have a huge impact on Middlesbrough and its supporters, as well as our own fans who have already bought the limited number of tickets that were sold before the licence was imposed, but we believe this is the fairest way of proceeding in the current circumstances.”

Middlesbrough said: “Given the reasons for these sanctions, for Chelsea to seek to invoke sporting ‘integrity’ as reason for the game being played behind closed doors is ironic in the extreme.”

FA boss expects quarter-final to go ahead

Chelsea said on Monday they were talking to the government on a daily basis “in search of a resolution” to the issue of selling tickets, and that the Premier League and FA had spoken to the government about the potential sporting integrity issues raised.

The government last week granted an amendment to the licence, allowing Chelsea to spend £900,000 on costs for home games – up from the £500,000 set on Thursday – but the allowable away costs remain at £20,000 per game.

Sports minister Nigel Huddleston said the government is in “discussions” with Chelsea “to look at ways ways we could potentially enable further ticket sales”.

Speaking at a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) session about the role of Russian money in the ownership and sponsorship of clubs, Huddleston said licence amendments taken so far were “precisely to stop” Chelsea from going into administration.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham told the DCMS session that he “would expect the (Middlesbrough) game to go ahead”.

A government spokesman said: “We are working to ensure more away fans can attend games, but this must be compatible with the licence so we ensure that no additional revenue can be raised.”

Travel needs are about injuries, not ‘bling’ – Tuchel

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, whose side face Lille in the Champions League last 16 second leg on Wednesday, said they have made adjustments to travel with a budget of £20,000.

The amount spent on travel for an away Premier League match is about £30,000, while European away fixtures add an extra premium.

Tuchel said travel needs were centred around players avoiding possible soft-tissue injuries during a busy schedule rather than “luxury and bling bling”.

“This is just a professional level of sports, where we play with two days between matches with our opponent having four days between matches and we arrive with the possibilities of injuries,” he said.

“For that, it is better to arrive with a plane rather than a bus.

“From my understanding, we have a framework to go and play in Lille with absolutely no excuses.

“Regarding these organisations, it is already more difficult to arrange things on a professional level, in the best way possible, for the FA Cup.

“But we will deal with it. As long as we have shirts and are ‘alive’ as a team, we will be competitive and fight hard for our success. We owe it to the people who support us.

“We are in the spotlight and it is our responsibility to do so. We will do it.”