The pressure on Solskjaer after Man United's Liverpool loss 'intolerable': Gary Neville

Manchester United were defeated 5-0 by Liverpool in the Premier League fixture at Old Trafford on Sunday courtesy of a hat-trick from Mohamed Salah.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a file photo; Credit: Twitter/@FabrizioRomano
By Sreejith C R | Oct 26, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under immense pressure after his team’s humiliating 5-0 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League fixture on Sunday. Naby Keita opened the scoring for the visitors at Old Trafford before Diogo Jota doubled the lead within the opening 13 minutes. Mohammad Salah scored two goals before the break and completed his hat-trick five minutes into the second half to thrash the hosts. Substitute Paul Pogba’s red card on the hour-mark, made the day worse for the home side.

“The pressure after this game is going to be intolerable in some quarters,” Gary Neville said on co-commentary during the Super Sunday thrashing. The board have made everyone aware that they are steadfast in their support of the manager and that he stays. Results like this undermine that, there’s no doubt. This is sobering.

“Manchester United needs to change. I believe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is going to get the opportunity to change. But there is going to be pressure from every source.”

Neville continued: “There’s no doubt the manager will get an absolute battering. There will be calls for his head like you wouldn’t believe but you wonder what this defeat will do to the players. How will they pick themselves up?

“There’s no hiding place after this. United are going to be absolutely demoralised. The next 24 hours is going to be as hot as it has ever been at this football club.”

Neville added, “Can I go with them?” as he watched a mass exodus from United supporters long before the full-time whistle but reiterated his warning that the result had been coming. It’s been coming for five, six weeks,” he said. “This is what Manchester United’s performance levels have been like all season.

“As soon as they’ve come up against a good team, they’ve been torn to shreds and it’s told them exactly where they are at. This is as bad as it gets. It’s the nature of the performance. They have capitulated. They’ve lost everything today – discipline, organisation. But what stands out in my mind is their organisation around the press. Finding the trigger, not getting there half-hearted.

“City can press, Liverpool can press. Manchester United are kidding themselves today that they are a pressing team. They are all over the place. The manager and his coaching staff have to take the blame for the pressing game today. Why would you do that? They are not a pressing team. They haven’t got it in them. If you are going to press, put in Lingard and the others who can run all day.”

United loses shape while pressing

In last week’s league fixture against Leicester City at the King Power stadium, the Red Devils had lost 4-2. The home side scored three goals in the last 12 minutes.

The former Manchester United captain was critical of the teams’ pressing, “I watched the game back against Leicester on our big tactical cam to try and get an understanding of what Man Utd were trying to do, how they were told to defend.

“In the first half, they were relatively compact but sat back in their shape. Something changed at half-time; all of a sudden they started to have sporadic presses. It’s a pattern in them. They’ve got no structure to press from, along with the fact they don’t run as hard as the other teams and they’re easy to play against.

Manchester United will play away at Tottenham on Sunday before traveling to Atalanta for the Champions League group stage fixture.





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