Solskjaer: Man United defending was ‘unforgivable’

Lewis Oldham
Solksjaer
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - NOVEMBER 04: <> during the UEFA Champions League Group H stage match between Istanbul Basaksehir and Manchester United at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu on November 04, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has claimed that poor defending was to blame for Manchester United’s shock defeat to Istanbul Başakşehir.

The Red Devils were two goals down in the first half after a torrid start to the game. Former Chelsea and Newcastle United man Demba Ba opened the scoring thanks to a huge defensive error.

The forward was allowed to run in on goal after he was left unmarked up top. He slotted away before Edin Visca doubled the Turkish side’s lead in the 40th minute.


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Anthony Martial got United back into the game with a header just before half time. They would have hoped to complete their comeback in the second half, but the score remained 2-1.

This is Man Utd’s first defeat in the Champions League this season, which adds to the mounting pressure currently on Solskjaer.

After the game, the Man Utd boss told BT Sport, as cited by BBC Sport, that the defending for Istanbul’s first goal was “unforgivable”.

“Performance was not good enough against a team that worked and ran and hit us on the break a couple of times. They scored two goals as you do in Europe when you do not defend well enough.

“The first one is that we play a short corner and forget about the man up top. That is unforgivable. The second one as well, we are not very well organised to counter the press.

“Two tough goals to give away and then we did not have enough to come back in the second half. Anthony Martial scored a good goal but the second half we threw everything at it and could not break them down.

“We are a team and everyone has a responsibility. We can play much better.

“I had a feeling [after Anthony Martial goal] and there was a lot of space to play and create but we did not create many chances.

“For them, it is a really nice win and for us very disappointing. We need to improve a lot.

“We are Man United and we need to improve. The games before against Arsenal we did not play our best game. Now we have to step up against Everton.”

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