Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is finding it hard to fault his Manchester United players following a 2-1 loss at Wolves on Tuesday.
The Red Devils led through Scott McTominay but were level at the break and in deep trouble when Ashley Young took a pair of yellow cards inside a five-minute spell early in the second half.
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United couldn’t hold, and didn’t look likely to score after conceding a circus act of an own goal in the 77th minute.
Still, Solskjaer is doing okay despite United settling into fifth place.
“Very disappointed with the result but pleased with the performance up until 75 mins,” he said. “An excellent performance from the boys.”
That’s a head scratcher, although Wolves have been quite good. Solskjaer has often spoken of United’s status and expectations, and the conceded goal alone was not along those standards.
To fail to take any points from the match after blowing a lead? Not great, even if United out-attempted Wolves 18-9, and it hasn’t happened in since the pre-Jose Mourinho days at Old Trafford.
“At 10 men it’s hard but we had to keep the ball,” said Solskajer, who admitted that the red card was a deserved one. “We didn’t want them to put pressure on us. They scored with their first chance after the sending off and you have to give them credit for that.”
FT 2-1. First time @Wolves have beaten Man Utd twice in a single season since 1979-80. First time @ManUtd have lost from a winning position since 3-2 defeat at West Ham in May 2016 under LVG.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) April 2, 2019