Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has defended Eric Bailly, following his needless red card for Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
United continued their recent revival under the Norwegian coach as they eased past Bournemouth with a 4-1 win at Old Trafford.
Solskjaer’s side dominated proceedings and fully deserved their win, however their performance was slightly marred by Bailly’s red card late in the game.
The Ivorian, who was lucky not to have been sent off for an earlier challenge on Andrew Surman in the box, was eventually shown a straight red for a clumsy challenge on Ryan Fraser in midfield.
Bailly’s sending off means he will now miss the next three fixtures against Newcastle, Reading and Tottenham.
And while Solskjaer was frustrated by the dismissal he doesn’t hold any grudges against the defender for his overeagerness.
“Eric knows it was a harsh challenge,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports after the match. “He doesn’t have to do that. Just stay on your feet, but once in a while you know the boys are excited, we want to win the ball back and sometimes you can mistime your challenges.
“Eric is the first one to accept that he made his mistake.”
Bailly took to social media after the game to apologise to supporters for his clumsy challenge.
“You err. You refelect. You learn. You grow,” Bailly posted on Instagram on Sunday night. “Happy the team ended the year with another win.”