Raghavendra Goudar
Manchester United boss Solskjaer breaks silence after Europa League loss to Villarreal
Speaking to BT Sport (h/t ManUtd.com), Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lamented over the lack of chances created by his side as they lost to Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League final.
Coming into the game as overwhelming favourites, Manchester United controlled possession for large parts of the game but could create precious little with it.
Instead, it was Villarreal who opened the scoring in the first half through Gerard Moreno while the Red Devils had to rely on some luck for Edinson Cavani to equalise in the second half.
Neither team created much in the way of goalscoring opportunity after the second half and after a dull extra-time period, the game went into penalties. As many as 21 spot-kicks were scored before David de Gea missed his to hand Villarreal a victory (11-10 on penalties).
Speaking after the game, Solskjaer admitted that his team needed to do more when they had the ball. (h/t ManUtd.com)
“We’ve got to taste this feeling and make sure we don’t get it again. We didn’t turn up. I think we started alright. They got the goal with the only shot they had on target. I was disappointed we conceded on a set play, of course. We pushed, we pressed, we scored. But after we got the goal we couldn’t control the game and dominate as we wanted.
“That’s football at times. They made it hard for us. We had the majority of the possession and they defended well. We didn’t create enough big chances.”
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It was a step back for Manchester United after having made progress over the course of the season under Solskjaer. None of the big players showed up, De Gea was once again woeful when faced with penalties and Solskjaer himself was guilty of not being proactive with his changes.
