Ole Gunnar Solskjaer calls for better discipline from his Manchester United players after red card and Jesse Lingard’s backpass earn Red Devils European defeat at Young Boys
- Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by Young Boys in the Champions League
- The Red Devils led early on but Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card changed the game
- Jesse Lingard’s poor backpass t hengave the Swiss side a 95-minute winner
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants his United side to have better discipline in future
- The Norwegian claims Cristiano Ronaldo should have had a second-half penalty
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned that Manchester United must learn from their mistakes in Europe if they to avoid another early Champions League exit.
Tuesday night’s shock defeat in Bern echoed a 2-1 loss to Basaksehir in Istanbul last November that was the beginning of the end of United’s group campaign as they dropped into the Europa League.
Solskjaer’s side still have plenty of time to recover in their remaining five games in Group F, but the manager wants better discipline after seeing United punished for Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card and Jesse Lingard’s late mistake.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claims Man United need to learn from their mistakes made at Young Boys
Jesse Lingard’s poor backpass gave Jordan Siebatcheu (right) a stoppage-time winner in Bern
‘Discipline is a huge part of the game in football in general not just the Champions League,’ said Solskjaer.
‘A lack of concentration, you make a mistake and you get done. We did that last year, conceding two sloppy counter-attacks against Basaksehir and lost that game in the last seconds today.
‘So we know we’ve given ourselves a more difficult task. We did last year when everyone thought we were through after two games.
‘You need 10 or 12 points: win your home games and one away from home. We’ve lost the opportunity to get three points, but we’ve got two home games next and got to focus on those two.’
Lingard looked on dejected after his mistake earned United a loss in the Champions League
Solskjaer says he understand the decision to send off Aaron Wan-Bissaka for a high challenge
On the red card, Solskjaer said: ‘I can understand why he gives it. Aaron is normally a very astute tackler, one of the best in the world, but he takes a touch that goes too far. It’s never a dangerous tackle because he hits him in the front of his foot.
‘We saw with Harvey Elliot that you sometimes can see bad injuries, but it was never reckless or malicious. Maybe inexperience to go through without the ball, but the boy wasn’t going to be injured. And it makes it difference after that with 10 men.’
On Lingard’s error, the United boss added: ‘Jesse wants to play it safe and misplaces the pass. That happens in football. Harry hindsight is a very good player. If Jesse gets that chance again he turns, swivels and boots the ball the other way.’
The United boss is livid that Cristiano Ronaldo (right) was not given a second-half penalty
However, Solskjaer felt that French referee Francois Letexi backed away from giving a penalty for Mohamed Ali Camara’s challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half because he would have had to show a red card as well.
‘He shoves him with his arm and he’s one-on-one with the keeper. But he probably didn’t do it as he would have had to send him off and that’s sometimes what you get with young refs,’ said Solskjaer who put a consoling arm around Ronaldo when he surprisingly took off United’s goal scorer in the 72nd minute.
‘He’s exceptional but we have to look after him and it felt like the right moment to take him off.’
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