Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bemoaned Jesse Lingard’s decision to try and chip Ben Foster when the Red Devils attacker had the opportunity to give them the advantage at Watford. The Norwegian gaffer laid into his team’s pedestrian performance – but spared David de Gea after the goalkeeper’s blunder gifted the Hornets the lead at Vicarage Road.
Lingard was presented with a terrific chance to put United a goal to the good in the first half as he was set through beyond the Watford defence.
Rather than coolly slotting the ball past Foster or taking it around the onrushing goalkeeper, though, he elected to chip the former United ace.
Lingard’s effort was wasted as the ball dropped onto the roof of the goal and United were left to rue the spurned opening to get their noses in front.
Ismaila Sarr had a gaffe from De Gea to thanks as he scored Watford’s opener, with the United stopper somehow fluffing his spinning and volley and deflecting it into the goal.
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Solskjaer admitted Lingard had made the wrong decision post-match, suggesting the United playmaker could have done better.
“Ben Foster stood up so I don’t think a chip was the right option,” Solskjaer said. “It was a good run, we could have been 1-0 up but it happens. Sometimes you miss the target and sometimes you score. We need a reaction.”
Solskjaer will have been concerned once again by United’s inability to break down a team sitting deep and he was damning in his critique of their performance, comparing their first half showing to a lacklustre testimonial.
“We started the game slow,” Solskjaer said. “The first half was very, very poor from both sides and when you concede two goals like we did in quick succession with their two shots on target we gave ourselves too much to do.
“We had been doing well but you have to earn every single point in this league. It was too slow, it was like a testimonial in the first half from both teams.”
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Watford captain Troy Deeney netted the decisive penalty which ultimately put the game beyond United, giving De Gea no chance with a well-hit drive.
But it was an altogether different story for the opener, which De Gea should have easily dealt with despite the added confusion of the bouncing ball.
Solskjaer was reluctant to blast De Gea, instead turning his attention to a need for improvement in upcoming games against Newcastle and Burnley.
“It was a mistake, it happens in football and it is what we train for every day to make sure they don’t happen again,” Solskjaer said. “David has been very good lately, it is just one of those things that happen.
“You have to earn every point on the pitch and today we didn’t deserve that. I can talk about it all day long. We have to face the fact we have two games coming up that we have to improve on.”