Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was critical of Aston Villa’s antics on the field while stating their goal should not have stood for offside.
Ole Gunnar Solskjare was not a happy man after yesterday’s loss to Aston Villa at Old Trafford. The game saw late drama as Villa snatched a crucial winner in the 88th minute through Kortney Hause, while Bruno Fernandes missed an injury-time penalty, blazing it well over the bar.
The win was also Villa’s first at Old Trafford in 12 years, and it surely has put a dent in Solskjaer’s plans. There were plenty of controversial moments, especially concerning Hause’ goal, which Solskjaer claimed was offside and shouldn’t have stood.
Solskjaer said, “You can take it when it’s a good goal against you,” said the United boss. “But that’s offside. Watkins touched David [de Gea] as Hause heads the ball.”
Pointing the finger at Leicester’s two disallowed goals last weekend, Solskjaer seems to have seen a similar pattern emerging out of Aston Villa’s goal. He continued, “How that’s a goal, and Leicester have not got their goals. I just can’t see the consistency.”
The Manchester United boss continued speaking after the game and commented on the penalty situation. Solskjaer had retained Bruno Fernandes as the side’s penalty taker despite signing Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored plenty of spot-kicks during his times at Real Madrid and Juventus.
Despite Fernandes’ impeccable record from 12 yards out since joining Manchester United, the decision seems to have backfired spectacularly. The Portuguese has scored 21 goals out of 23 penalties since January 2020. Owing to this statistic, Solskjer did not have a reason to drop him from penalty duties, although he may have one now.
Solskjaer commented, “Bruno has been excellent, and Cristiano is probably the one who has scored the most penalties in world football. We’ve got great takers, and it’s a missed opportunity for us to get a point. Sometimes, it just doesn’t go your way. Bruno is such a good penalty taker, and today you would have backed him with your mortgage, I would guess.”
The Manchester United boss also left a few words of criticism for Aston Villa’s antics during the game. Villa players surrounded Bruno Fernandes after the penalty was awarded, a tactic that seemed to have worked for the visitors. Solskjaer added, “What I didn’t like was the way they crowded the referee, the penalty spot and Bruno and tried to affect him. It clearly worked, but that’s not great to see.”
Only last week, Solskjaer had taken a swipe at Jurgen Klopp over the German’s comments on Manchester United being awarded more penalties in the league. However, when presented with an opportunity, United missed the trick, which might turn the manager’s head towards Ronaldo, who could become their new spot-kick taker.