It’s mine going forward – Solskjaer shoulders responsibility for United drubbing

Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick as Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Liverpool enjoyed their biggest ever win at Old Trafford.

Pa Sport Staff
Monday 25 October 2021 04:30 BST
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes he still has the backing of the club (Martin Rickett/PA)
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes he still has the backing of the club (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes he still has the backing of the club’s hierarchy despite the humiliating 5-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool

Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick as Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Reds enjoyed their biggest ever win at Old Trafford, which started emptying even before half-time substitute Paul Pogba was sent off for a foul on Naby Keita.

Former United defender Gary Neville labelled it a “monstrous day” but said that the board were “unequivocal” in their support of Solskjaer, who won the treble with the club in 1999.

Asked if he believes he still has that backing from above, Solskjaer said: “Well, I’ve heard nothing else (on my future) and I’m still thinking about tomorrow’s work.

“Of course, we’re all low. I can’t say now that I’ve felt any worse than this. This is the worst I’ve been, the lowest I’ve been but, as I’ve said, I accept the responsibility and that is mine today and it’s mine going forward.

“Today’s rock bottom, low in confidence but next week it’s Tottenham away, it’s a Champions League game at Atalanta, the next team who visits us… that’s Man City.

“We have to look forward, we have to sort the frames of mind out and make sure we go into the next training session and the next game with the right frame of mind.”

United have now lost three of their last four Premier League games and had to come back from 2-0 down to beat Atalanta in the Champions League last week.

Neville, who was working as a pundit for Sky Sports, said after the match: “I didn’t think it would ever get as bad as that today.

“That was an absolute shocker, and the timing couldn’t have been worse because it has been building now for a few weeks, against what I’ve called half-decent teams.

“As soon as they’ve played a proper team they’ve been obliterated, pulled to pieces, dismantled.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted with his side’s finishing although the win did come at a cost in the shape of injuries to Keita and James Milner.

“In front of the goal, in the last third, we were exceptional,” Klopp said. “Clinical and ruthless, the high press was outstanding, formation top, all these things you want to see as a coach.

“The difference is you don’t usually score in each situation and we did.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in