Aston Villa won 1-0 at Old Trafford for the first time since 2009 today, achieving their first Premier League win over Manchester United in 45 tries. It means that United have now lost 3 of their last 4 across all competitions, and achieved victory in only five of their last 11.
You got to think the pressure might be rising, at least a bit, on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer right now. Certainly there is a segment of the supporter base that’s been calling for his head for quite some time, and today, expectedly, the online pitch forks are out for him.
? "It's an offside, their goal."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was not happy with Aston Villa's goal as he felt it was offside pic.twitter.com/0XUO4aFyNC
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 25, 2021
The only goal in the game, scored by Kourtney Hause, was offsides in the eyes of Solskjaer (see above).
“You can take it when it’s a good goal conceded against you, but that’s offside,” the Norwegian said.
“He’s touched David [de Gea] as he heads the ball. How that’s a goal and Leicester have not got their goals, I just can’t see the consistency and that’s clearly offside.”
United had a chance to equalize, very late, when they awarded a penalty, but Bruno Fernandes missed it badly (we’ll have more on this in another post shortly).
Many thought Cristiano Ronaldo should take the penalty instead, and after today, it’s safe to say he will likely be the designated penalty taker moving forward, instead of Fernandes.
OGS had words about the Villa players surrounding Bruno before he stepped up for his attempt:
“I wasn’t going to mention it but it’s not right that they do that. I guess that should be a yellow card for someone but they have achieved what they wanted.”
He added that he doesn’t feel this act psyched the Portugese out enough to make the really bad miss however:
“It doesn’t get in Bruno’s head. He’s strong mentally and he’ll step forward again. The decision (on who takes penalties) is made before the game.”
Solskjaer has yet to win a trophy at United, and he’s only reached one cup final. The Red Devils were top of the Premier League table entering last weekend, but it appears that hot start has been squandered now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
He co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.