Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took the blame for the ‘unforgivable’ first goal Manchester United conceded during their embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir, as serious questions over his future continue to be asked.
As if losing to Turkish minnows competing in the Champions League for the first time wasn’t bad enough, the nature of the defeat gave another damning reflection on the state of United right now.
Is it time for Solskjaer to be shown the exit?
Basaksehir were gifted the most bizarre opening goal when the Red Devils left Demba Ba all by himself on the halfway line, allowing the former Chelsea and Newcastle striker to race clear and score unopposed.
Describing the incident for talkSPORT 2, former England international Alvin Martin quite rightly said: “I’d call it schoolboy defending, but that would be disrespectful to school boys.”
Manager Solskjaer did take responsibility of the woeful showing.
He said: “The first one is that we play a short corner and forget about the man up top. Thats unforgivable Weve not done our roles, its my responsibility.
Demba Ba had this much space to score for Istanbul Basaksehir
It was the simplest task for Ba
You dont see goals like that at this level. You shouldnt concede easy goals like that. When you do, it makes winning matches a lot harder.
More sloppy defending saw Edin Visca double Basaksehir’s lead before Anthony Martial pulled one back, but United were toothless in attack as well, hitting the target just twice on the night.
The timing of the result could not have been worse for Solskjaer, whose position was already being questioned following United’s worst start to a Premier League season in seven years.
Nonetheless, the Norwegian refused to comment on his future, saying: “You know, I decline to comment on such a thing.
United were embarrassed on Europe’s biggest stage
Simon Jordan questions Harry Maguire’s leadership and says Roy Keane was right to claim Manchester United are lacking leaders in their squad
“Of course it’s early on and, you know, opinions are out there all the time. You’ve got to stay strong.
“I’m employed by the club to do a job and I do that to the best of my ability with our staff.”
But reacting to the result on talkSPORT, Danny Mills and Scott Minto both suggested Solskjaer has to go.
Former Leeds defender Mills said: “Manchester United are in free fall at the moment.
“Their league position is awful and they got lucky against Brighton, they were absolutely battered.
There were no leaders on the pitch for United
“They’ve been woeful. Roy Keane is right, there are no leaders in that team, there’s nobody who sets an example on the pitch, and it’s too easy.
“How long can this go on? This is Manchester United; they’re 15th in the league and they’re losing out in Turkey. It’s not good enough.”
Meanwhile, former Charlton and Chelsea defender Minto dropped a timely reminder that ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is waiting in the wings.
He added: “Would Solskjaer be given the job if he wasn’t a United legend? No. Would he have got the job at another top six club? No.
Pochettino has been linked with the Manchester United job in the past
“United have spent hundreds of millions of pounds and wasted it. Is he the man to take United to challenge [Pep] Guardiola and [Jurgen] Klopp? I think the answer is no.
“When you’ve got someone like Pochettino waiting in the wings, I hate to say that it all depends on one game, but the Everton game is a big one.
“I think Pochettino is the man to take United forward.”