Liverpool wasted little time in plunging Manchester United into darkness when Naby Keita opened the scoring 5 minutes into the match. However, it was only the beginning of the end.
Diogo Jota doubled the lead eight minutes later and Mohamed Salah scored his first two goals on his way to a hat trick. By the time the referee blew the whistle for half time, the Red Devils were down 4-0.
Things didn’t get any better in the second half. Five minutes in, Salah had his hat trick. It was a thorough thrashing by Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not the right manager for United
Solskjaer brought in Paul Pogba but the French midfielder was shown a red. Nothing the Norwegian manager did worked. To make matters worse, Liverpool treated the final 30 minutes as a training session, opting to pass the ball around rather than add any more humiliation.
For a club the size of Manchester United, that kind of treatment by the opponent is perhaps worse.
Following the game, the talk was on the future of Solskjaer. A 5-0 loss against Liverpool would be more than an enough to get a manager the sack. But that wasn’t the case with Solskjaer. The manager took a bit longer to start his post-match press conference but was defiant in defeat.
"“It is the darkest day I have had leading these players,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports. “We were not good enough individually and as a team. The whole performance was not good enough.“I choose the way we approach the game, we were not clinical enough and gave too many spaces and when you give good players space they score.”Source: ESPN"
He gave no indication he was considering resigning. He believes they are close to being the team he wants them to be and urged the players to look forward.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær about his future as Man United manager: “I have come too far, we have come too far as a group and we are too close to give up now”, he told @shamoonhafez. 🔴 #MUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 24, 2021
“We are at rock bottom, we cannot feel any worse than this”. #Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjær looking ahead: “We have big games coming up, so no time to sulk, no time to feel sorry for yourself. We have to come together”, he told @shamoonhafez. 🔴 #MUFC #Solskjaer
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 24, 2021
Solskjaer’s words are all well and good, but the fact is there have to be consequences for such a disastrous performance. Liverpool are on a different level than Manchester United but other teams have made United look ordinary.
They were fortunate in the Champions League against Villarreal and Atalanta. They’ve dropped points in four out of their last five matches in the Premier League.
Now, according to ESPN, a “sizable” number of players have lost faith in Solskjaer following the Liverpool loss. His inability to solve the team’s defensive struggles as well as his favoritism have become sticking points.
He led United to a second place finish last season but given the players they signed, the expectations were heavily raised. Jadon Sancho, arguably their biggest signing, has been relegated to the bench and is probably having second thoughts about leaving Borussia Dortmund.
Raphael Varane is out injured and the concerns some had with Cristiano Ronaldo have come to pass. The Portuguese star offers little defensively and while he has pulled them out of tough situations in the Champions League, he’s been held under check domestically.
Solskjaer was a breath of fresh air and managed to steer the ship back in the right direction when he replaced Jose Mourinho. But good vibes only go so far.
With the coach having recently signed a contract extension, the higher-ups at Manchester United have a decision to make. They can either stay the course or replace Solskjaer. Antonio Conte is available and has experience coaching in England.