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Manchester United’s Paul Pogba shows his disappointment after the UEFA Champions League Group H stage match between RB Leipzig and Manchester United at Red Bull Arena on December 8, 2020 in Leipzig, Germany.
United manchester manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer refused to blame claims that Paul pogba is “unhappy” about his Champions League leave after a 3-2 defeat in RB Leipzig.
READ | Manchester United, eliminated from the Champions League with defeat in Leipzig
United were punished for a slow start, conceding early goals on loans from Manchester City, Angelino and Amadou Haidara, before Justin Kluivert put Leipzig up 3-0 midway through the second half.
United retired goals in the final ten minutes when Pogba came in to score a late header to make it 3-2 after Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty.
In preparation, Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola said the 27-year-old World Cup-winning French midfielder is “unhappy” and needs a “change of scenery” after struggling to establish himself under Solskjaer.
Solksjaer gave a terse answer when asked if Raiola’s comments had unsettled his side.
“The team is fine, they are a team and they stick together, as soon as Paul’s agent realizes that it is a team sport and we work together the better,” he said.
“That’s the last thing I want to say about it,” Solksjaer replied when asked if he had spoken to Pogba about Raiola’s comments.
Instead, the Norwegian blamed the defeat on his team’s lethargic start.
“We didn’t perform well enough as a team,” he said.
“We knew they would come to us and cross the area and unfortunately we conceded two goals and never got going.
“We just didn’t show up until they scored the second goal, then we started playing.”
He praised the resilience of his team.
“They gave it their all, I can’t complain about anyone’s effort and we were close to getting third, which would have been an achievement against a good team from Leipzig,” he added.
The 47-year-old said he needed to cure United of their habit of starting slowly in European games.
“We didn’t start until it was 2-0, which is something we have to tackle again, we have to manage it better,” Solskjaer added.
United face a Manchester derby at the weekend.
“As a footballer, you can’t feel sorry for yourself. You can do it for a few minutes tonight, but that’s it. We have a huge game on Saturday and we need to focus on that.”
Leipzig got revenge for their 5-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in October much to the delight of their coach Julian Nagelsmann.
“It was not easy having a 5-0 loss in October, then having to win the second game to advance to the knockout phase,” said Nagelsmann, who led Leipzig to the semi-finals last season.
“We got the win today and I think it’s deserved.”
