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Rob DawsonCorrespondent
MANCHESTER, England – It could have been a week that showed Manchester United are on the right track with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but instead their season is in danger of going off the rails.
A 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig on Tuesday was enough to interrupt United’s return to the Champions League, and they will return to the Europa League in the new year. On Monday, Paul Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, dropped the bomb that the French midfielder will not sign a new contract and wants to leave the club as soon as possible. Manchester City, visiting Old Trafford on Saturday, are waiting behind the scenes to turn it into a crisis hat trick.
Pogba was left on the bench for the decisive clash against Leipzig, with Solskjaer insisting before kick-off that the decision had nothing to do with Raiola’s explosive interview with Tuttosport, which was published just as the players were landing in Germany on Monday night. night. but when it was introduced after an hour, United were already 2-0 down and on their way to an early exit.
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“We didn’t perform well enough as a team, and that’s always the manager’s responsibility, to prepare everyone,” Solskjaer said afterward. “We knew that they were going to attack us, we knew that they were going to put centers in the area and, unfortunately, we conceded two goals and we didn’t get going.”
United are firm in their belief that Solskjaer is the right man for the job, but there will be questions about how his team managed to be eliminated after starting the campaign with a victory at Paris Saint-Germain and a 5-0 demolition. from Leipzig. . In the end, they have paid a heavy price for the 2-1 loss to Istanbul Basaksehir which looks even more ridiculous now than the night. Paul Scholes called Turkey’s result “a disaster.”
Solskjaer is the first manager to lose six of his first 10 Champions League games to an English club, but he is in no immediate danger as he has created enough goodwill with Executive Vice President Ed Woodward and the owners of the Glazers. However, you will know enough about the recent history of the club to be aware that when Louis van Gaal’s United were eliminated from the Champions League with a 3-2 loss to Wolfsburg in 2015, it was the beginning of the end. for the Dutch. Six months later, he was replaced by José Mourinho.
Mauricio Pochettino would have been forgiven for allowing himself a small smile as he continues his search for his next job. Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann and PSG coach Thomas Tuchel, the two coaches who will move from Group H at Solskjaer’s expense, would also be in the frame, but United are not yet.
However, Solskjaer should be concerned that he asked his key players to get ahead of a crucial game and they did not. Even more troubling was Captain Harry Maguire admitting they “weren’t in” since the start of the biggest game of the season.
Needing only one point to qualify, Solskjaer chose five running backs that included Luke Shaw, who had his first start in more than a month after recovering from a hamstring injury. But for 30 minutes, it was hard to tell if United were playing with five defenders or none.
Former Manchester City defender Angelino took advantage of Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s total lack of awareness at the back post to make it 1-0 after two minutes. After 12 minutes, it was 2-0 when Shaw was AWOL and Amadou Haidara was left with a simple volley that beat David de Gea. Emil Forsberg should have made three shortly after, when United’s five defenders decided the Swedish striker was not worth scoring before VAR came to his rescue when Willi Orban’s pass was ruled offside.
The only positive about a disastrous first half was that it was not as disastrous as it should have been.
Maguire and de Gea added their names to the shame roll by somehow combining to allow Justin Kluivert the simplest of spikes to make it 3-0 in the 69th minute, and although United came back with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Pogba in the last 10 minutes, he showed a comeback too far.
Pep Guardiola is in luck when it is time to analyze the defense ahead of this weekend’s Manchester derby. United have conceded the first goal in eight of their 10 league games and three of their six Champions League games, and while they have allowed some exciting comebacks, it is not a sustainable strategy for success.
“In other games where we conceded the first goal, we started quite well, but today we just didn’t show up until the second goal was scored, all of a sudden we got back to play,” Solskjaer said. “The second half was more or less one way and the only chance they had they managed to score. Three-0 down is difficult, but everyone gave their all, good character and effort. I can’t blame anyone, and we were close to getting the third, and that would have been an achievement against a good team like Leipzig. “
He leaves Solskjaer with the task of picking up his players before the first derby of the season, as he once again begins to rebuild his reputation with fans who still doubt he can bring United back to the top. It could have been the week to show he is capable of climbing those heights, but after a scolding out of the Champions League, the Norwegian has a mountain to climb.
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