Izuchukwu Okosi
By Izuchukwu Okosi
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Saturday was left red faced following the 2-0 defeat of Manchester United to city rivals Manchester City and aptly called it “a big step backwards.”
An own goal by Eric Bailly and a close range finish by Bernando Silva ensured the Red Devils’ recent bad patch in the Premier League continues despite the good form of goalkeeper David De Gea who was the only bright spot in the defeat.
The clash was the 186th Manchester derby between both sides and one the Norwegian hoped would placate fans for the 5-0 hiding suffered in the same venue against Liverpool two weeks ago.
“Of course it’s very disappointing,” the 1999 treble hero said of the chastening defeat.
“Of course it feels like after last week that we have made a step or two forward. Results-wise, it’s a big step backwards.
“Probably, for me, it’s a way of losing that we don’t like. When you lose a game against a good team you want to see a better Man United team than that.
“Of course when you concede the first goal as early as you do in an unfortunate way, it makes the game a lot more difficult.
Solskjaer seemed to have accepted that his team were not good on the day to cancel the first half lead.
“We needed to be more front foot, aggressive up there, but then of course we’re playing against a very good team that made it hard for us to do that.
“Then we had the ball, they pressed us really well, we couldn’t get the angles that we knew we had to get and the quality that we knew we had to get.
Following the thrashing by Liverpool, United bounced back with a 3-0 victory at Tottenham and then claimed last-gasp 2-2 Champions League draw at Atalanta but the loss to City would only serve to put pressure on the United board.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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