There is seemingly ‘no indication’ that Manchester United will part ways with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, despite Saturday’s embarrassing derby defeat to Manchester City.
The Norwegian oversaw yet another abject display from his side in the 2-0 loss to the champions, with Pep Guardiola’s dominant side outplaying their rivals from start to finish, while also capitalising on more dismal defensive errors to secure victory.
After the thrashing at the hands of bitter rivals Liverpool two weeks ago, United returned to Old Trafford having eased the scrutiny with two positive results on the road against Tottenham Hotspur and Atalanta, albeit with any positivity quickly evaporating after a lifeless showing against their neighbours.
As was the case against Jurgen Klopp’s men, the Red Devils conceded early after Eric Bailly’s rash slice into his own net, before the hosts suffered a sucker-punch just before the break as some lax defending allowed Bernardo Silva to poke home at the backpost, with the previously impressive David De Gea failing to keep the ball out.
In truth, the eventual scoreline perhaps flattered the home side, with the manner of the defeat and the performance heightening the pressure on Solskjaer, with his side currently nine points off leaders Chelsea just 11 games into the season.
Despite the persistent speculation over his future, there has been ‘no indication’ that he will shown the door in the coming days and weeks, according to The Athletic.
The report suggests that the club are hoping this current turbulence will ‘blow over’, while outgoing chief executive Ed Woodward is believed to be wary of ‘cutting ties’ with Solskjaer in what would be his final act in the job, after only recently handing the United boss a new three-year deal.
As the report also outlines, however, there are worrying trends developing at the Theatre of Dreams, with the loss to City the eighth defeat on home soil in all competitions in 2021, with performance levels also having been way below-par since the start of the season.
One major obstacle to any sacking is the lack of availability of a suitable replacement, with the heavily-linked Antonio Conte having now taken the vacant role at Tottenham Hotspur – which ironically came available following United’s win against the north London club last weekend.
