wicked.football

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said that Manchester United’s slow starts “need addressing” after they failed to recover from a goal down to get knocked out of the EFL Cup by West Ham.

The Hammers exacted revenge on United as they knocked Solskjaer’s men out of the Carabao Cup win a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

After losing dramatically to United at the weekend, West Ham, making 10 changes, travelled north on Wednesday looking for a place in the EFL Cup fourth round.

And Manuel Lanzini’s ninth-minute strike was enough to sink United, who made 11 changes. Despite United’s 27 shots and 61% possession they could not break through. And in fact West Ham should have doubled their lead late on.

Both Andriy Yarmolenko and Mark Noble missed guilt-edged chances. But it was United’s sluggish start wish concerned the Norwegian.

United were off to a slow start at the weekend to West Ham and they repeated that at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Solskjaer told Sky Sports: “(We were) lacking a goal. A slow start again and that needs addressing. They got a goal and after that we played well for long periods. We gave it a go and I know stats don’t mean anything. But when you have 27 shots the boys have given it a go.

“We didn’t create big chances, but we built pressure, Mason Greenwood came on and had a good one but sometimes the pressure does not come to anything. He made a positive impact, he was fresh and sharp but it was too little too late. The last six or seven minutes we were going gung-ho and they could have scored a couple.”

Asked about the possible penalty on Jesse Lingard when Mark Noble grabbed the United man’s shirt in the box, Solskjaer added: “I would rather not say too much but it was a penalty again on Jesse Lingard.

“You want to go through but it is a long season, we gave it a good go, can’t fault them for attitude and have big games coming up.

“It is a long journey all season. We have loads of games and keep on doing what we are doing, trying to get results. We are out of this cup which is not great but we will focus for Saturday.”

Subscribe for free to TEAMtalk’s daily newsletter…

Pearce hails ‘winning mentality’

West Ham assistant coach Stuart Pearce paid tribute to David Moyes’ “winning mentality”. He also revealed the Hammers were upset not to win the game against United on Sunday.

“We were really disappointed we did not win the game on Sunday. That is what David Moyes has created at this club, a winning mentality. We dug deep when we had to and could have won by more. The lads are delighted to get through. It is not an easy place to come but to a man they were magnificent,” said Pearce.

“We played well for long, long periods – we gave it a good go.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reacts to #MUFC‘s third round exit from the Carabao Cup at the hands of #WHUFC…pic.twitter.com/XpXvWg5r31

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 22, 2021

“We played particularly well, dealt with the ball well and cut United open on one or two occasions. The governor here has created a winning mentality and when the chips are down they go the extra mile for each other.

“He enjoys winning football matches. He take it in his stride, a game in a cup competition and we are delighted to be in the next round. From Dave’s point of view, he is delighted to win but it is another game and we now focus on Saturday.

“Winning football matches is a good habit to have. We have good togetherness and the manager has created that. The players enjoy playing for him.”

READ MORE: Man Utd attacker open to Tottenham move with mega swap deal mooted

The post Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pinpoints Man Utd factor that ‘needs addressing’ after Carabao Cup exit appeared first on TEAMtalk.