Sitting ninth is not a concern, says Solskjaer
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER claimed he is not worried about Manchester United’s position in the Premier League table after watching his side drop more points at home to Aston Villa yesterday.
A 2-2 draw left United in ninth place with 18 points from 14 games. Jose Mourinho returns to Old Trafford as Tottenham manager on Wednesday night, and Solskjaer needs to win his next three games — against Spurs, Manchester City and Everton — to have a better record than his predecessor when he was sacked a year ago this month.
‘The league table, at this point, is not the biggest concern because it is so tight,’ said Solskjaer.
‘I wouldn’t have sat here and talked about us being fifth if we had got that one goal extra.
‘I just need to make sure that we get three or four performances after each other — and results.
‘What I can say is so far we have had the lead in so many games and we haven’t been able to win those games. Six or seven times we’ve been 1-0 up, or 2-1 or 3-2 like last week. We should be better at seeing those games into wins.’
United hit back from conceding an excellent Jack Grealish strike to lead when Marcus Rashford’s effort went in off Villa keeper Tom Heaton and Victor Lindelof headed home.
But a week after conceding a late equaliser at Sheffield United in a 3-3 thriller, Solskjaer’s side were in front for less than two minutes yesterday before Villa’s Tyrone Mings pegged them back.
‘I’m disappointed we conceded straightaway,’ added Solskjaer. ‘We are a young team, the youngest team in the league, but that’s not an excuse for us not seeing games out when we are winning.
‘The first half wasn’t good enough. I’m disappointed about that, because all the boys stayed here while the young ones went over to Kazakhstan (for a Europa League match against Astana). We should have been coming out of the traps quicker.
‘But the second half was what we want to see. We created loads of chances and should have won this game but we didn’t deserve to.’
A draw was about right here, no matter how deep Solskjaer’s frustrations that his team had lost a lead for the third time in a week.
Villa were superb and gave as good as they got. United may not be the team they once were but you still have to play well to get anything at Old Trafford and Dean Smith’s team played very well indeed on this occasion.
They came with the right attitude, were not cowed or intimidated for a minute and were able to create enough chances to bring them something from the game.
Villa happened to score the goal of the day, too. One of the goals of the season, in fact. Jack Grealish had been superb as Villa beat Newcastle last Monday, running the game from his favoured position on the left of midfield. He is a player running hot on form and confidence and he brought this game to life in the 11th minute.
Picking up possession from an overhit Anwar El Ghazi cross on the left of the box, Grealish cut back on to his right foot and looked set to use his marker Andreas Pereira as a shield for delivering a cross to the far post.
But Grealish does not lack imagination or ambition and the curled shot that he dispatched across and over David de Gea’s left shoulder and into the far top corner was absolutely perfect. It had to be.
So the question had been asked of United and it took them a while to answer with any conviction. Villa were the better side for the first half an hour and came close to stretching their lead a couple of times, most notably when substitute Trezeguet poked the ball in, only to learn his provider — Grealish — had been offside.
By the interval, though, United were level. Mings made a mess of a clearance and paid a price as Pereira swung in a deep cross for Rashford to head against the post and in via a deflection off the back of Heaton. It was given as an own goal which seemed hard on striker and goalkeeper but, more importantly, it gave United a platform and they came back out to play well for the first 20 minutes of the second half.
United were dominant and it was not a surprise when they scored. Grealish had just missed a very good opportunity at the other end when Heaton pushed a low Aaron Wan-Bissaka drive round the post. United played the corner short and, when Fred’s cross was inadvertently flicked on by Villa striker Wesley, Lindelof headed in from beyond the far post.
But the lead lasted less than two minutes as Matt Targett’s chipped pass caught Brandon Williams hanging back as United raced out defending a short free-kick and Mings was left alone to volley past De Gea.
With Tottenham next up and then a Manchester derby looming large, by this time next week, Solskjaer may be yearning for the comfort of ninth place.