Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hinted that he isn’t overly bothered that Manchester United are out of the Carabao Cup following their 1-0 defeat to West Ham at Old Trafford. The Red Devils were beaten fair and square by the Hammers, who got their revenge for Sunday’s dramatic late Premier League defeat at the London Stadium.
Manuel Lanzini struck a first-half winner for the Irons, who showed resilience to keep United at bay as they pressed for an equaliser.
United were fielding a heavily rotated side but a number of the club’s fringe players failed to stamp their mark on the game, meaning they will be set for more time on the bench.
Those include Anthony Martial, Juan Mata and Donny van de Beek, who was arguably at fault for the winning goal after failing to stick with goalscorer Lansing.
Elsewhere, Chelsea and Tottenham found a way to win on penalties while Liverpool and holders Manchester City managed to book their place in the last 16 last night with wins over Norwich and Wycombe.
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It’s been a mixed start to the season for United, who were also beaten in the Champions League group stages last week against Young Boys in Switzerland.
After a blockbuster summer transfer window that saw United land Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo, more will be expected of Solskjaer this season.
Another trophyless campaign simply will not do and could see him lose his job come what May.
Solskjaer also confirmed he will be looking to get to the bottom of his team’s slow start, something that also happened in the league fixture against the Irons last weekend.
“A slow start again and that needs addressing,” he added.
“They got a goal and after that we played well for long periods, gave it a go and stats don’t mean anything. When you have 27 shots the boys have given it a go.
“We built pressure, Mason Greenwood came on and had a good one but sometimes the pressure does not come to anything. He made a positive impact, he was fresh and sharp but it was too little too late.
“The last six or seven minutes we were going gung-ho and they could have scored a couple.”
United now host Aston Villa in Premier League action on Saturday lunchtime.
