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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Getty Images)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer launched a tirade against the Premier League match schedule after his team’s vital victory against Everton on Saturday when Chelsea beat Sheffield United 4-1 to climb to third place.
The United manager came under intense pressure before the game at Goodison Park after a loss to Arsenal and an embarrassing defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League.
But man of the match Bruno Fernandes scored twice and new signing Edinson Cavani opened his account when United won 3-1, giving Solskjaer much needed respite before the international break.
Crystal Palace beat Leeds 4-1 to make three losses out of four for Marcelo Bielsa’s men before Frank Lampard’s Chelsea beat Sheffield United behind by the same score.
United pressure
United started the game at a humble 15th place in the table, but showed courage and style as they recovered from chasing after a goal from Bernard in the 19th minute.
Fernandes was the most outstanding player of the 20-time champions, thriving in a creative midfield role in the absence of Paul Pogba.
The Portuguese drove in a Luke Shaw cross header past Jordan Pickford and scored again as the England international missed a cross to Marcus Rashford and the ball went through the far post.
Cavani, a former Paris Saint-Germain forward, secured the points with a goal in injury time.
A visibly angry Solskjaer praised his players but fired a volley at league chiefs for scheduling United’s game early Saturday after their Champions League midweek engagements.
“We were prepared to fail,” the Norwegian told BT Sport.
“The start time set us up to fail. We’ve been to Turkey, we’ve played a lot of games this season, we came back Thursday morning and we played Saturday lunchtime, it’s an absolute disaster.
“These guys deserve better. Luke Shaw got hurt because of that. He’s a hamstring that could be long and Marcus Rashford could be struggling.”
The pioneer Carlo Ancelotti’s home win at the start of the season was United’s seventh consecutive victory in the Premier League.
Their form on the road is in stark contrast to their struggles at Old Trafford, where they haven’t won a single league game so far this season.
Everton, which topped the Premier League table earlier this season, have now suffered three consecutive losses in the league.
“I hope that after the international break we will come back in a different way,” said coach Carlo Ancelotti. “It is not just a problem for the defenders, it is for the whole team.”
Chelsea romp
Chelsea are starting to pick up the pace after their expensive summer rebuild and are now just one point behind Southampton and Liverpool, who play Manchester City on Sunday.
Lampard’s side, now undefeated in six Premier League games, fell behind early at Stamford Bridge when a good move from David McGoldrick put Sheffield United in front.
But they fought back quickly, with England forward Tammy Abraham placing home after Matteo Kovacic’s cut and Ben Chilwell putting Chelsea to a 2-1 lead shortly after the half hour.
Brazilian veteran Thiago Silva scored his first goal for Chelsea to put the Blues up 3-1 before Timo Werner passed Aaron Ramsdale to put the home team in full control.
Leeds’ good start to their first season in the top flight after a 16-year absence is fading fast, as they conceded four for the second time in a week at Crystal Palace.
Goals from Scott Dann and Eberechi Eze gave Palace a 2-0 lead before Patrick Bamford cut one. But an own goal from Leeds winger Helder Costa restored the hosts’ two-goal cushion and Jordan Ayew completed the second-half win.
Speaking of the defensive problems of his team, Bielsa added: “How can I not worry? It is not a question of training more and, apart from that, the international break does not help us train in that because most of the players will be out. ” . “
West Ham host struggling Fulham at the start of the night.
