LIVERPOOL: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s problems since taking over as permanent Manchester United manager intensified with a humiliating 4-0 loss away to Everton on Sunday.
Defeat at Goodison Park — United’s sixth in eight games — also dealt a huge blow to the Red Devils’ hopes of playing in the Champions League next season.
Goals from Richarlison, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lucas Digne and Theo Walcott inflicted the largest defeat on United since they lost by the same scoreline at Chelsea three years ago.
But, after starting his reign with eight consecutive victories, the best start ever made by a manager at the club, former United striker Solskjaer is now collecting some other, very unwanted, statistics.
This latest loss means United have now leaked 48 league goals, the most they’ve conceded in a season, since letting in 63 back in the 42-game 1978/79 campaign.
Sunday’s loss also means United have conceded in 12 consecutive games for the first time since December 1998 while, under Solskjaer, the Reds have lost five consecutive away games for the first time in 38 years.
United looked second best even before the hosts scored twice inside the opening half-hour, conceding a succession of corners from which Everton threatened.
It was another type of set-piece, a long throw-in by Digne, from which Everton took the lead after 12 minutes when the full-back launched the ball deep into the United area.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin helped the ball on with the flick of his head and Richarlison sent a spectacular scissor-kick finish flying past David de Gea.
After a humbling 3-0 Champions League exit at Barcelona in midweek, it was not the start Solskjaer had been looking for. Everton soon made the situation worse for the visitors.
After 27 minutes, Everton cleared a United corner and immediately broke on the counter-attack, with winger Bernard playing a delightful ball inside to Idrissa Gueye.
He, in turn, released Sigurdsson who, with Nemanja Matic backing off, unleashed a magnificent 25-yard shot which bounced just in front of the diving de Gea on its way into the bottom corner.
Richarlison might have given Everton the lead even earlier. His 10th minute shot drew an amazing reaction save from de Gea. From the rebound the Brazilian hurried his follow-up effort wide.
With the recalled Romelu Lukaku booed every time he touched the ball by his former fans at Everton, United had little response to an impressive effort from the home side.
In between the goals, United star Paul Pogba’s long diagonal pass freed Marcus Rashford who could only poke his effort over from a tight angle.
Everton effectively killed the game in the 56th minute. De Gea punched clear a Sigurdsson corner to the unmarked Digne who sent a superb, first-time volley flying back past the United keeper from 20 yards.
Three minutes later, and from the same left wing, another Sigurdsson corner almost crept in at de Gea’s near post before the Spaniard stuck out a boot to clear off his line.
Even though Richarlison had limped off through injury, the agony was not over for United with the Brazilian’s replacement Walcott continuing the rout in the 64th minute.
Sigurdsson again carved out the opening with a brilliantly-timed through ball which allowed the former England international the space to sprint into the area and beat the advancing de Gea.
Not until the 86th minute, and a comfortably saved Anthony Martial strike, did United have a shot on target.
Meanwhile Everton, who had not beaten a ‘big six’ rival in 25 attempts before last month, have now won consecutive home matches against Chelsea, Arsenal and United while keeping three clean sheets in the process.
Four-star Everton pile on the agony for Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Four-star Everton pile on the agony for Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
- Defeat at Goodison Park — United’s sixth in eight games — also dealt a huge blow to European ambitions
- Sunday’s loss also means United have conceded in 12 consecutive games for the first time since December 1998
San Siro prepares for last dance with Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony
- Friday’s ceremony will likely be the last major international sporting event hosted at a stadium which is so beloved it is nicknamed ‘Football’s La Scala’ after Milan’s historic opera house
- The iconic old ground is on course to be replaced by a shiny new arena after a century of hosting Inter Milan and AC Milan matches
MILAN: One of the world’s most famous stadiums is set for a last hurrah on the international stage with the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics at the San Siro on Friday.
Long considered one of the temples of football, the San Siro will introduce the Milan-Cortina Games to the world with a ceremony featuring an athletes’ parade held in all four “clusters” of a sprawling Olympics being held across a vast area of northern Italy.
But the iconic old ground is on course to be replaced by a shiny new arena after a century of hosting Inter Milan and AC Milan matches.
In September the local government of Italy’s economic capital approved a 197-million-euro ($229.5 million) sale of just over 28 hectares (70 acres) of public land, on which the San Siro sits, to the two clubs.
Inter and AC Milan will abandon the iconic ground once their new stadium is built, the idea being that it be finished in time to host matches at the 2032 European Championship to be jointly held in Italy and Turkiye.
The two Milan clubs — European football royalty now both owned by American investment funds — — are planning the construction of a modern 71,500-capacity stadium to the immediate west of the current San Siro, on an area currently occupied by matchday car parking and a local park.
Once the new ground is constructed, San Siro will be almost entirely demolished to make way for new parkland, office space and entertainment facilities.
The current stadium no longer meets European football governing body UEFA’s requirements to host major events and was denied the 2027 Champions League final.
That means Friday’s ceremony will likely be the last major international sporting event hosted at a stadium which is so beloved it is nicknamed “Football’s La Scala” after Milan’s historic opera house.
Milanese icon
The San Siro was inaugurated with a derby match between Inter and AC Milan on September 19, 1926 and over the years it has hosted World Cup and European Championship matches, as well as dozens of fixtures for the Italian national team.
Initially owned by AC Milan before being bought by the city in the 1930s, with Inter making it their home in 1947, the San Siro has been renovated several times, with the last major works being carried out ahead of the 1990 World Cup.
That restyling, which added a third tier to the stadium, gave the San Siro the futuristic look — with spiralling external columns and a striking red roof — that still catches the eye over three decades later.
The San Siro also doubles up as one of Italy’s premier concert venues, where some of the world’s biggest pop music stars have strutted their stuff since reggae icon Bob Marley became the first in 1980.
From the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, right up to contemporary superstars Beyonce and Taylor Swift, the stadium attracts massive crowds for summertime performances from international hit machines and local favorites like Grammy-winning rock band Maneskin.
The new stadium should it be built as scheduled by the end of 2030, but with a final project a long way from being approved by the city, nothing is certain, especially with local elections coming next year.
Politicians on the local and national stage have repeatedly expressed anger at the idea of knocking down a symbol of Milan and in 2023 succeeded in torpedoing a previous attempt by the clubs to build a new stadium on the same site.
