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Manchester United lost to RB Leipzig to get out of the Champions League and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said the manager always has to take all the blame.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken responsibility for Manchester United’s elimination from the Champions League, admitting that his side failed to play as a team in their 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig.
United, which only required a draw to reach the final 16, fell behind at 109 seconds and were two down with 13 minutes left as they struggled to adjust to a tight five-man baseline Tuesday.
Angelino scored the first goal and the loan from Manchester City prepared Amadou Haidara for the second goal, before Justin Kluivert’s cut finish gave last season’s semi-finalists more breathing space.
Solskjaer’s United rallied at the end thanks to a Bruno Fernandes penalty and Paul Pogba’s header in the space of 135 seconds, but could not find the necessary equalizer to pass.
Maguire blames the players, not Solskjaer
Although Captain Harry Maguire absolved Solskjaer of any blame for his choice of tactics, Rather than point the finger at United’s poor defense on all three goals, the Norwegian raised his hands for the costly loss.
“I look back and I look at this season and I look at the players and I really admire them for being as smart as they are sometimes,” Solskjaer said during his post-game press conference.
“Today did not work out for us. It is a difficult season, there are difficult circumstances this year and we were prepared for it. And the character and the effort I cannot complain.
“We didn’t perform well enough as a team and that’s always the manager’s responsibility, to prepare everyone.
“We knew they were going to attack us, we knew they were going to put centers in the area and unfortunately we conceded two goals and we never started.”
Too little too late
Leipzig freaked out at Red Bull Arena, requiring a reaction stop from Peter Gulacsi in the closing seconds to prevent Nordi Mukiele from shoving the ball into his own net and making it 3-3.
Leipzig, a high-flying Bundesliga player, are now in Monday’s draw for the knockout phase and head coach Julian Nagelsmann praised his players for striving to advance together with Paris Saint-Germain.
“It was very intense at the end, but we played a good game for long periods,” he said. “The players implemented our plan well, especially in the first half.
“The guys fought hard. I said before the game that they are machines and they proved it again tonight.”
Disappointed with decisions
Nagelsmann was unhappy with United’s two goals, claiming that Ibrahima Konate’s challenge to Mason Greenwood should not have resulted in a penalty, moments before Pogba’s header was deflected from Maguire’s body.
“We must not concede the penalty, we have to defend it better,” he said. “But for me it is not a mandatory sanction, it is a normal duel in the area.”
“In the second goal, I also think Maguire’s hand went to the ball. I’ve seen four perspectives and it’s hard to see, but I think it was handball and it shouldn’t have counted either, although now it doesn’t matter.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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