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‘D Day’ for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, Rio Ferdinand claims

Ferdinand has warned Solskjaer that he has to win a trophy this season

Sarah Rendell
Wednesday 15 September 2021 12:37 BST
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lost his Champions League opener
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lost his Champions League opener (Getty Images)

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand claims it’s ‘D-Day’ for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the club.

The manager has failed to win a trophy since taking over as boss in 2018 and while his 21/22 Premier League campaign has started well, United lost their Champions League opener 2-1 against Young Boys on Tuesday.

Solskjaer’s tactics have come under scrutiny as he substituted Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored, for Jesse Lingard. The England forward went on to put in a poor back pass that led to their opponents scoring the winner.

Ferdinand told BT Sport: “Of all the managers in the top-four fight, Ole hasn’t proved he can win at this level yet. He’s done what he’s been asked to do up until this point. Now its D-Day.

“It’s his squad, shaped by him, a wonderful transfer window just gone, bringing in winners, people that can change the culture of this club. Now he’ll be judged properly. Now you’ve got to convert that to trophies and if he doesn’t his head will be on the chopping block like any other manager.”

Lingard wasn’t the only United player to make a mistake in the match as Aaron Wan-Bissaka was given a straight red card for a dangerous tackle.

Ferdinand criticised the side for not being on top of their game.

“This is Basaksehir all over again. It’s a big mistake from Jesse,” he added. “Wherever you go in Europe you’ve got to be on your game. It was a bad tackle from Wan-Bissaka and the game turned on its head totally.”

United’s next matches in the Champions League see them at home at Old Trafford for two fixtures. One game is against Villarreal, the team who defeated them on penalties in the Europa League final last season.

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