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MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer criticized the decision to impose a penalty at Crystal Palace in a 3-1 home loss on Saturday, but said the visitors were worth it as your team catches up after a late start. to the season.
With United trailing 1-0, there was a double VAR intervention, to award Palace a handball penalty against Victor Lindelof before forcing a replay after goalkeeper David De Gea stepped off his line, and that put an end to the hopes of the United.
“I feel like it wasn’t a penalty,” Solskjaer said after Wilfried Zaha converted the penalty which resumed in the 74th minute, after Jordan Ayew was saved and then added a late third to condemn United to defeat in their first match.
“I think the ball comes so close to Victor, where can he put his hands?”
“The decision to retake was probably the right one if you follow the rules. It’s tough, but if you follow the rules, then it’s correct.”
Solskjaer also felt the result was justified, with Andrew Townsend opening the scoring after seven minutes before Zaha’s double and a consolation from Donny van de Beek on his debut.
“They deserved the points,” he added. “They were sharper than us. We started slowly and that had a ripple effect.
“We can all look in the mirror. We all need games and sharpness and time to get back to our best. But we are trying to catch up.”
It seemed like a valid excuse that United were falling behind. Having not finished last season until August 16, they only had time for a pre-season friendly against Aston Villa to prepare for the new campaign before the visit to the Palace.
The visiting team had already played four preparation matches and two competitive matches this season. The added sharpness showed, with coach Roy Hodgson satisfied with what he saw after they scored more than twice for the first time in 40 league games.
“When you come here you have to show that you are going to play with your front foot and not just defend and let them do what they want with the ball,” he said. “We started in the right way and we finished in the right way.”
(Reporting by Peter Hall; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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