Ole Gunnar Solskjaer slams Aston Villa’s behaviour & bemoans ‚offside‘ winning goal
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hit out at several Aston Villa players for their antics prior to Bruno Fernandes‘ injury-time penalty miss, as Manchester United sank to a shock 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils had the chance to snatch a last-minute equaliser after Kortney Hause had handed the Villans an 88th minute lead, but Fernandes sent his spot-kick ballooning over the crossbar.
His uncharacteristically poor penalty could have come as a result of Villa players attempting to put him off ahead of his kick, as they did their best to distract and disturb the Portuguese star. Emiliano Martinez was seen clearly asking for Cristiano Ronaldo to take the penalty instead, while several other Villans surrounded Fernandes and delayed his kick.
Solskjaer was not happy with VIlla’s sportsmanship, saying that they should have been booked for their actions.
„First of all the way they get round the penalty spot, get round Bruno and that, that’s not to my liking. Bruno is usually very good in those positions and unfortunately he missed this one.
„I wasn’t going to mention it but it’s not right that they do that. I guess that should be a yellow card for someone but they have achieved what they wanted.
„It doesn’t get in Bruno’s head. He’s strong mentally and he’ll step forward again. The decision (on who takes penalties) is made before the game.“
The Norwegian boss also believes Hause’s winning goal was offside, criticising the officiating in the Premier League for a lack of ‚consistency.‘
„Obviously disappointed because the goal is offside. It’s unfortunate to have that decision against you.
„You can take it when it’s a good goal conceded against you, but that’s offside. He’s touched David as he heads the ball. How that’s a goal and Leicester have not got their goals, I just can’t see the consistency and that’s clearly offside.“
The Man Utd boss admitted that losing three of the past four games is a ‚concern‘, but he insisted that his side were ‚very good‘ in certain areas of the pitch against the Villans.
„When you lose games it’s a concern of course it is.
„We were very aggressive, very good on transition, got forward quickly but the final shot, final pass and final decision wasn’t always the best one. 20 of the 30 attempts were blocked.“
Solskjaer gave a brief assessment of the injuries which forced Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire to leave the pitch prematurely, admitting that they are a major doubt for Man Utd’s midweek Champions League tie with Villarreal.
„At the moment they don’t look ok for Wednesday but let’s see.“