Manchester United’s hopes of carrying a trophy this season have continued to dwindle after they were done a blow by Wolves who beat them 2-1 to qualify for the semi finals and their interim boss, Ole Gunnar cold not stomach the humiliation.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told his Manchester United players “the truth” after the poorest performance of his reign so far at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
United were knocked out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage at Molineux, going down to a 2-1 defeat following goals from Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota.
Marcus Rashford’s stoppage-time consolation did little to excuse a dismal United display where they created little and were often outfought by Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
It was United’s second straight defeat in the space of a week after a 2-0 reverse away to Arsenal last weekend.
Both have arrived immediately after a famous comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League knock-out stages.
“It was a big step backwards,” Solskjaer admitted after the final whistle. “That’s the poorest performance since I’ve come here.
“Lack of urgency, forward passing, and regains. The international break sometimes comes in handy.
“We would have loved to play again and put it right, hopefully some of them will have good experiences with the national team and be ready to push again.
“We’re in a great position in the league, we’ve got the Champions League, but very disappointing tonight we’re not in the semis.”
When asked what he had said to his United players in the dressing room, he said: “I told the players the truth.
“Of course you can’t sit down and sulk too long. Everyone disappointed but we have to move forward.
“We know that we played well against Arsenal last week and didn’t get what we deserved, but we got what we deserved today.”
Solskjaer dismissed suggestions that United have now lost the fabled ‘new manager bounce’, which powered his excellent start to life as the club’s caretaker.
“I think [losing momentum] is something natural. You can’t perform to top of level every time,” he said.
“It’s the poorest we’ve played. We were still against good team, don’t forget that. Don’t take anything away from Wolves performance even though we under-performed.”