Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes blame for Manchester United's exit from the UEFA Champions League
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has accepted responsibility for his side's surprise exit from the UEFA Champions League. The Red Devils were dumped out of Europe's top competition after their 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.
The Manchester giants were expected to qualify for the Round of 16 of the Champions League after securing impressive wins against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig in their opening two group fixtures.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men needed just a point from their last two group games to secure qualification to the knockout stages but lost 3-1 at home to PSG and 3-2 away to RB Leipzig.
RB Leipzig took the lead after only a minute, courtesy of Manchester City loanee Angelino, and were 3-0 up with only ten minutes to go. Two quick goals from Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba gave Manchester United hope but the Red Devils were unable to complete a comeback.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes a slow start to the game led to Manchester United's downfall against RB Leipzig
Manchester United have been relegated to the Europa League for the second time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian tactician lamented another poor start from his side and said:
"We didn't perform as a team well enough and that's always the manager's responsibility, to get everyone ready. We knew they were going to come at us, we knew they were going to put crosses in the box, and unfortunately we conceded two goals and never got going."
"In games, earlier now with the way we conceded the first goal, we played pretty well. Today we just didn't turn up until they scored the second goal, suddenly then we started playing again."
Manchester United's latest defeat has resulted in rumors about a possible exit for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. His decision to play five at the back against RB Leipzig also drew heavy criticism from pundits.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continued:
"We had one chance at maybe 1-0, Mason had a good chance, but after 2-0 we started playing. Second-half was one-way traffic, more or less, and the one chance they had they managed to score."
"Three-nil down is difficult but they all gave everything. Good character, good effort, can't fault anyone and we were close to getting the third and that would have been some achievement against a good team like Leipzig."
The 47-year-old manager added:
"You cant say that we were good enough. We weren't good enough. We were in a difficult group and started well and obviously the big turning point was the loss away in Istanbul. That's where we lost points we should have got."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has overseen a revival in Manchester United's Premier League season in recent weeks, with the club winning four games in a row. The Red Devils are currently sixth in the Premier League table, five points of leaders Tottenham Hotspur, with a game in hand.
Manchester United's embarrassing exit from the UEFA Champions League has once again piled the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the Red Devils continue to be linked with a move for former Spurs boss, Mauricio Pochettino.