Solskjaer: Man Utd players ‘can’t feel sorry for themselves’
Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer thinks his players ‘can’t feel sorry for themselves’ after their 3-2 defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig.
The loss in Germany means they failed to qualify from Group H of the competition.
Man City loanee Angelino put Leipzig ahead in just the 2nd-minute with a brilliant first time finish.
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Amadou Haidara doubled the home side’s lead in the 13th-minute as Man Utd failed to keep up with the pace of the match.
Angelino was involved again, crossing the ball in to find Haidara at the back post.
Justin Kluivert made it three in the second half after some poor defending from the Red Devils. David De Gea failed to claim the ball in the box, while Kluivert ghosted in behind two defenders.
Kluivert finished off the chance from close range to all but ensure qualification for Leipzig.
Bruno Fernandes began a spirited last ten minutes for United with a penalty. He used his typical skipping technique to score past former Liverpool keeper Peter Gulacsi.
A deep corner from Fernandes in the 82nd-minute was then met by substitute Paul Pogba. The Frenchman climbed highest, with his header helped in by Harry Maguire.
Man Utd had left it too late though and will now compete in the Europa League.
Speaking after the result, Solskjaer said: “We started too late. Great spirit and comeback again. It’s different to the Premier League, you can’t give a team a three-goal lead and expect to come back.
“We were unlucky towards the end and you almost thought it was in at the last minute there.
“Of course you can’t say we were good enough, we weren’t. In a difficult group of course, the big defeat for us was the one away to Istanbul – that’s where we lost the points we should have had.
“Today we were close but we knew we had to defend crosses and balls into the box and we just couldn’t clear them.
“As a footballer you can’t feel sorry for yourself. You feel sorry for a few minutes tonight and then we focus on a massive game on Saturday.”
When asked about Pogba’s future at Old Trafford, he said: “You have to ask Paul if he is happy or not, I won’t speak for him. He’s working hard in training and he needs to focus on his performances. Now is not the time to discuss transfers.”
