Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United lost 4-1 away to Watford.
It's the third time in the last five Premier League games that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team has conceded at least four goals.
Manchester United have four points in the league since September 25th. Newcastle United have the same. Every other team in the league has more. Solskjaer's team is only getting worse, as they were fortunate not to concede more in this game against a team that is 16th in the league after getting three points today.
David De Gea blamed the players and defended his manager and Bruno Fernandes did the same. But as his players come to his defence, it's beyond proven that Solskjaer's team lacks structure, identity and direction.
After so many heavy losses, you'd assume that the manager would eventually show some emotion, but that's not Solskjaer's style. So it was no surprise that he came out meekly after the game.
"There's no point in saying too much about it," Solskjaer said in the post-match interview.
"We didn't handle the first half at all. We got outfought in the first half and we allowed them to get into our box too easily. And that's costly when you've got a direct and a physical team like Watford. That's part of it. We never got on the ball either. Second half is so much better. They created four, five or six big chances.
"So if we give ourselves a mountain to climb you just can't catch two goals in the Premier League."
At one point, Solskjaer apologised for smiling when asked why the players weren't in the right frame of mind to win the game. One assumes those two things are linked. Roy Keane isn't smiling at all, to be fair he rarely does, but there's a lack of passion and desire that emanates from this Manchester United team. It appears to reflect its manager.
Instead of coming out strong or like a sore loser the way other top managers do, Solskjaer is still focusing on the postiives.
"First half was very, very poor. We need to get the players in a better frame of mind to start the game. Because second half when it seems like they've got nothing to lose, they're playing well. They played well in the second half...all these lads, good lads, top professionals.
"When it's not going for you, it's going against you, it's had to play with that mental break. Second half we come out with nothing to lose we played fantastically.
"Of course it wasn't enough."
David De Gea defends Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Watford defeat.
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