Ole: You can’t expect to keep coming back
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given his reaction to our Champions League elimination.
We headed into the winner-takes-all encounter with RB Leipzig needing to avoid defeat to progress to the knock-out stages, but a 3-2 loss meant it was the Germans who progressed.
Speaking after the game, Ole felt the damage was done with our poor first-half showing, while he also reflected on our other results which cost us a place in the next round and gave his thoughts on conceding the first goal again.
Below is what the boss said in his post-match press conference and to club media and BT Sport...
Speaking after the game, Ole felt the damage was done with our poor first-half showing, while he also reflected on our other results which cost us a place in the next round and gave his thoughts on conceding the first goal again.
Below is what the boss said in his post-match press conference and to club media and BT Sport...
Solskjaer reacts to RB Leipzig defeat Video
Solskjaer reacts to RB Leipzig defeat
Watch what the manager said to club media on Tuesday night, after a disappointing night in Germany...
CLOSE TO A COMEBACK
“Close at the end, but you can’t expect to go through when you go three goals down against a good team like Leipzig. I can’t fault the character and effort and pressure that we put on them all second half, where we deserved more almost. But you can’t give a team a three-goal lead and expect to come back. Just too late, unlucky towards the end."
FALLING BEHIND AGAIN
“Yeah, well we have started games okay and played well, but conceded the first and second goals in games. Today we started too passive. Not aggressive enough in closing down the crosses or the diagonal balls and, of course, this is something that we prepared for. We knew they were going to put loads of crosses into the box and we just couldn’t deal with them.”
“Close at the end, but you can’t expect to go through when you go three goals down against a good team like Leipzig. I can’t fault the character and effort and pressure that we put on them all second half, where we deserved more almost. But you can’t give a team a three-goal lead and expect to come back. Just too late, unlucky towards the end."
FALLING BEHIND AGAIN
“Yeah, well we have started games okay and played well, but conceded the first and second goals in games. Today we started too passive. Not aggressive enough in closing down the crosses or the diagonal balls and, of course, this is something that we prepared for. We knew they were going to put loads of crosses into the box and we just couldn’t deal with them.”
LEAVING IT LATE
“Today we just didn’t turn up until we scored the second goal; suddenly again we started playing again. We had one chance at 1-0, Mason [Greenwood] had a good chance, but after 2-0 we started playing. The second half was one-way traffic more or less and the one chance they had they managed to score. So 3-0 was always going to be difficult, but they all gave everything, very good character and effort. I can’t fault anyone and we were close to getting the third and that would have been some achievement against a team like Leipzig.”
NEVER GIVING UP
“Always. With these players, always. These players never give up. It’s easy to let your head drop and give up, but these don’t. At the end when Paul put that cross in, I thought it was an own-goal or Harry [Maguire] or Donny [van de Beek] had got in there. Close, but not good enough.”
“Today we just didn’t turn up until we scored the second goal; suddenly again we started playing again. We had one chance at 1-0, Mason [Greenwood] had a good chance, but after 2-0 we started playing. The second half was one-way traffic more or less and the one chance they had they managed to score. So 3-0 was always going to be difficult, but they all gave everything, very good character and effort. I can’t fault anyone and we were close to getting the third and that would have been some achievement against a team like Leipzig.”
NEVER GIVING UP
“Always. With these players, always. These players never give up. It’s easy to let your head drop and give up, but these don’t. At the end when Paul put that cross in, I thought it was an own-goal or Harry [Maguire] or Donny [van de Beek] had got in there. Close, but not good enough.”
Leipzig 3 United 2: Solskjaer's press conference Video
Leipzig 3 United 2: Solskjaer's press conference
The manager answered questions from reporters via video call in Germany, after our defeat to Leipzig...
LOSS IN ISTANBUL COST US
“Yeah, definitely. The away game, that defeat; that’s where you look at those points missed. They’re the points that cost us getting into the next round, or the knock-out phase, no doubt about that.”
ELIMINATION
“Of course you can’t say that we were good enough, we weren’t good enough, in a difficult group of course. We started really well, in this group and obviously the big turning point or the big defeat for us was the one away to Istanbul. That’s the one that you look back and think that’s where we lost the points that we should have had. Today we were close, but we knew we had to defend crosses, we knew we had to defend balls in the box and we just couldn’t clear them.”
“Yeah, definitely. The away game, that defeat; that’s where you look at those points missed. They’re the points that cost us getting into the next round, or the knock-out phase, no doubt about that.”
ELIMINATION
“Of course you can’t say that we were good enough, we weren’t good enough, in a difficult group of course. We started really well, in this group and obviously the big turning point or the big defeat for us was the one away to Istanbul. That’s the one that you look back and think that’s where we lost the points that we should have had. Today we were close, but we knew we had to defend crosses, we knew we had to defend balls in the box and we just couldn’t clear them.”
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