Manchester United vs West Ham: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer jokes United cannot play any worse despite win
United face Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night in a Champions League quarter-final
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Your support makes all the difference.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that Manchester United ‘got away with it’ against West Ham, joking that his players could not play any worse against Barcelona on Tuesday.
United won to move within two points of a top-four place, thanks to two Paul Pogba penalties either side of a Felipe Anderson equaliser.
Solskjaer’s side created little from open play and were fortunate not to concede more than just one goal.
Anderson saw a legitimate opening goal incorrectly ruled out for offside in the early stages, while Michail Antonio struck the crossbar shortly before Pogba’s second.
Antonio also almost put West Ham ahead with a powerful downward header, only for David de Gea to save acrobatically.
A repeat performance at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night would almost certainly end United’s Champions League campaign, with Barça leading 1-0 from Wednesday’s first leg.
“We got away with it,” Solskjaer admitted. “I know it is not easy because we played on Wednesday and we made a few changes.
“They deserved to get their goals but we are allowed to have a good goalkeeper.”
“The effort was there but the quality wasn’t good enough. Wednesday night would have played on some of the players’ minds.
“When you have three games in six days, it is physically and mentally tough. I feel good about the players for Tuesday because we cannot get a lot worse than we were today.”
Solskjaer added: “There have been two games away recently where we have played well [against Arsenal and Wolves] and not got what we deserved.
“The last two games at home against Watford and West Ham we probably got what we didn’t deserve, so it evens itself out over the season.”
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