Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that his side have taken a big step backwards following their 2-0 defeat against Manchester City.
United hosted their ‘noisy neighbours’ at Old Trafford hoping to claw their way back into contention for the title race and strengthen their prospects for the top four, but ultimately were torn apart and locked up by Pep Guardiola’s side.
In his post-match press conference, Solskjaer said: “For me it’s about (getting) back to what we were starting to look like. We started to look like a proper team, a team on the front foot, a team that I like to see.
“Then we’ve had two or three weeks of a disappointing spell. The result and performance against Tottenham was good but it’s not what we want to look like.
“We want to be on the front foot, we want to be more aggressive of course but unfortunately we’ve had to try to get a few results.
“We’ve got a couple of good results against Atalanta and Tottenham and today was a big step back.”
Solskjaer understandably has a lot to answer for following such a flat and lacklustre display from his side in what should be one of the biggest games of the season for them.
The Red Devils’ performance was summarised by the fact that United goalie David de Gea faced more shots on his goal from his own team than Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson did.
United will once again come under the microscope after their display today as they fell six points behind City and could fall into the bottom half if results go against them this weekend.
They will face Watford after the international break, and it will be as good a chance as any for United to bounce back with a victory.
A win at Watford could be the catalyst United need to get season back on track before they continue their tough run of potentially pivotal games against Villarreal and Chelsea in the subsequent fixtures after.