Leipzig 3 United 2: Solskjaer's press conference
TranscriptThe manager answered questions from reporters via video call in Germany, after our defeat to Leipzig...
"We didn’t perform as a team well enough, that’s always the manager’s responsibility to get everyone ready. We knew they were going to come at us and put crosses in the box, unfortunately we conceded two goals and we never got going." "In games that we’ve conceded the first goal early we’ve played pretty well. 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 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." "Today we never got going, that’s right. As I said before, in the other games we’ve conceded first we’ve actually started pretty well and played pretty well. Even in the Istanbul one in the first 10 minutes we played pretty well, but today we didn’t start until 2-0 and that’s something we need to address even more. Of course we’ve addressed it, of course we’ve spoken about it and talked about what Leipzig would do early on in the game and how we needed to manage that, and we didn’t manage it well enough." "The squad is fine. They’re a team and they stick together. As soon as Paul’s agent realises this is a team sport and we work together, the better. That’s probably the last thing I’ll say about that. I don’t want to spend energy on that." "What we speak about in the background is something else and I’m not going to talk about Paul’s agent any more." "We did everything that we normally do in preparation, with the video meetings, the training sessions, the recovery sessions, with all the games we’ve got. Of course we know everyone wants to be up for a game like this and everyone was ready for it. The season we are playing and the demands on the players sometimes maybe takes them 15/20 minutes to get going. Today they scored two good goals, maybe the referee should have done something with the second one with the push in Alex’s back. Maybe we’re not streetwise enough and he should have dropped and fell on the floor because he gets pushed in the back. The first one is something we had prepared for and it was not good enough. Sometimes I think back and I look at this season and I look at the players and I actually admire them for being as ready they are at times. Today it just didn’t work for us. It is a difficult season, there are difficult circumstances this year and of course we were up for it and the character and effort I can’t fault."