Solskjaer insists there will be ´no big inquest´ after Man Utd are stunned by Sheffield United

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted there would be no need for a “big inquest” after Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by Sheffield United on Wednesday.

Kean Bryan and Oliver Burke scored either side of a Harry Maguire header to stun the Red Devils at Old Trafford and end their 13-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

It was the first time Man United lost at home to a team starting the day bottom of the table since suffering a 1-0 defeat to West Brom in April 2018, a result that handed Manchester City the title.

This setback was similarly a boost for City, whose 5-0 thrashing of the Baggies on Tuesday means they can now open up a four-point gap at the top over their local rivals if they win their game in hand.

Solskjaer’s men produced a miserable display in wet conditions, managing only four shots on target from 76 per cent of the possession, as starting forwards Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood failed to create a single goalscoring chance between them.

But the Man United manager felt it was simply a bad day for his side at the end of a strong run of results.

1973 – Sheffield United have registered their first away win against Manchester United since December 1973, ending an eight-game losing run in all competitions at Old Trafford. Blades. pic.twitter.com/LZ0u4VK0GE

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 27, 2021

“We had all the possession. When you concede two bad goals, it’s always going to be difficult,” he told BT Sport.

“We didn’t create enough. We put pressure on them, we couldn’t penetrate enough in behind them, create big enough chances to score enough goals.

“That magic was missing, that little bit extra. There was not a lot of space to run into, they defended well, and fair play to them, take nothing away from their performance, but we didn’t have the right ideas or solutions. They weren’t there.

“It wasn’t to be. The second goal we conceded is so poor. We lose the ball easily, get back into position and then just stop getting out to the ball. Three or four decisions there that were completely out of character. That’s maybe down to the season it is.

“No big inquest. Of course, we’re disappointed, but we’ve seen so many results this season be out of character.

“Surprised, yep, but with the world as it is, we’ve been very consistent, the most consistent team the last few months and it just hit us today.

“Dust off the sad feeling and go again.”

United had complaints about the first goal, with Billy Sharp having barged into David de Gea before Bryan’s header, and Martial had a goal disallowed when Maguire was deemed to have fouled Blades goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

“Foul. Billy Sharp runs into him from behind him, so he can’t get up,” was Solskjaer’s view.

He said of the Martial disallowed goal: “No foul. It’s that kind of season, inconsistent season anyway, it’s going to be unpredictable, but that’s two mistakes by the referee.”