Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer laughed off questions about his future at Old Trafford following his side’s shocking 2-1 defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday night. The Turkish outfit took advantage of dire defending to earn their first ever Champions League win against an insipid United.
The Red Devils had gone to the Fatih Terim Stadium with European football having provided welcome relief for them this season.
With three defeats from six Premier League games, United had beaten Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzing in the Champions League group stages.
But they turned in a woeful display in Istanbul as Demba Ba and Edin Visca both scored in the first half.
Anthony Martial reduced the deficit before the break for United but Solskjaer’s charges were unable to earn a Group H point.
DON’T MISS: Man Utd hero Paul Scholes raises Rashford and Greenwood worry
United instead suffered to a second straight defeat following their Old Trafford loss to top-four rivals Arsenal at the weekend.
That has cranked up the pressure on Solskjaer, who will be desperate to avoid another setback at Everton this Saturday prior to the international break.
And asked if he fears for his future after the loss to Istanbul Basaksehir, Solskjaer laughed and refused to give an answer despite speculation United’s hierarchy may soon have a big decision to make.
The underfire Norwegian said in his post-match press conference: “I decline to comment on this. Of course it’s early on and opinions are out there all the time.
“I’m employed by the club to do a job – and I do that to the best of my ability with our staff.”
PREMIER LEAGUE ON TV: Get NOW TV’s Sky Sports season pass now and save 25 per cent
He added: “Not good enough, the full game. We started off in the first 10 minutes…
“We had some space and looked like we could find some decent openings but then we left ourselves wide open for two goals and that was disappointing.
“Good response and good goal after their second [goal] and in the second-half you think we can push on and create chances but we just couldn’t break them down.
“You play a short corner and everyone forgets the players we’re playing against. Demba Ba gets in behind us, lack of communication and lack of decisions.
“You don’t usually see those goals at this level, you shouldn’t concede easy goals like this, you know how hard it is to create chances and create goals.
“And when you give easy and soft goals [away] like the ones here today it makes it a lot harder.”
MUST READ…
Man Utd chiefs’ assessment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer emerges
Harry Maguire and Man Utd stars slammed as damning verdict on board
Liverpool fans all agree as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Man Utd record
In his interview with BT Sport, Solskjaer meanwhile admitted that it is “not easy to be positive” immediately after such a defeat.
“The performance wasn’t good enough. The first goal is when we play a short corner and forget about the man up top – that is unforgivable,” he said.
“It has set us back a lot – of course it has. You get a reality check every time you play a football game. Nothing becomes history quicker than a game of football.
“You don’t just turn up and get three points in the Champions League.
“We were not good enough and it’s not easy to be positive now, of course it isn’t, when we’ve lost the way we did.”
United will need to pick themselves up quickly for Saturday afternoon’s trip to Goodison Park to face Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton.
The Toffees are looking to bounce back from back-to-back defeats which have stalled a stunning start to the season.
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here