Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led Manchester United to a 2-1 defeat by Swiss minnows Young Boys in their opening Champions League fixture – and there are calls for Antonio Conte to replace him
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Solskjaer and Maguire lament Manchester United’s lack of discipline in Bern
Manchester United must part ways with “utterly clueless” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after he was “exposed” in the Champions League loss at Young Boys.
That is the verdict of former Chelsea and Tottenham defender Jason Cundy, who insists Old Trafford chiefs must appoint Antonio Conte as manager before they miss their chance.
United were beaten 2-1 by Swiss minnows Young Boys in their Group F opener on Tuesday night – a result which has left many of Solskjaer’s decisions in the spotlight.
The Norwegian opted to take off midfielder Donny van de Beek for centre-back Raphael Varane at half-time to bolster the defence after right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card.
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But Cundy claimed that left the Red Devils “overrun in the middle of the park” as he launched a withering attack on Solskjaer.
“That there shows he’s utterly clueless,” Cundy told talkSPORT of the result in Bern. “That performance, the team shape… they went down to 10 men, yes, but come on.
“They went to five at the back and he didn’t change it. They were getting overrun in the middle of the park.
“Poor Fred, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. I’ve got so much sympathy for them, they had no help, they were getting passed around.
“The back five didn’t move, they were getting outnumbered. It wasn’t working, they should have gone for four in defence and four in midfield.
“United got exactly what they deserved and he’s (Solskjaer’s) been exposed again brutally.
“The game changed on the red card but that didn’t mean it was over.
“Young Boys are normally whipping boys of European football and United get rolled over 2-1… it was a disasterclass, it was an absolute disaster.”
Would Manchester United be better off with Antonio Conte at the helm instead of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? Comment below.
Cundy did not stop there and declared the defeat was tantamount to a sackable offence as he highlighted former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss Conte as the ideal replacement for Solskjaer.
He added: “It exposed Ole, it did badly. I’d sack him. We know what’s coming, don’t we? You’ve got Antonio Conte out there…
“Who’s the better manager? There will be a stage in the season where they’ll be like ‘I wish we did it earlier.’
“There’s been a pattern emerging with Ole, particularly in Europe. He couldn’t get out of the group last season.
“It did him a favour going into the Europa League, it’s an easier competition to win and he managed to balls that up.”
United were defeated on penalties by Villarreal in last season’s Europa League final. Their next Champions League fixture pits them against the Spanish club later this month.
