MANCHESTER: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is to be sacked as Manchester United manager, according to widespread reports on Saturday following a humiliating 4-1 defeat at Watford.
Solskjaer admitted he was “embarrassed” after his team’s fifth defeat in their last seven Premier League games.
The Times, The Guardian and the Manchester Evening News reported that the result of an emergency board meeting called after the Watford defeat was to bring the Norwegian’s three-year spell in charge at Old Trafford to an end.
Solskjaer signed a new three-year contract in July and will reportedly be handed a £7.5 million compensation package.
The club’s hierarchy stuck by Solskjaer during the recent international break despite humiliating home defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City.
But worse was to come at Vicarage Road as the struggling Hornets could afford to miss a first half penalty twice and still run out comfortable winners.
Solskjaer has managed to ride out the storm during previous poor runs since taking charge in 2018.
But United’s latest slide comes after heavy pre-season investment on Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane that were expected to turn the team into title-winners for the first time since 2013.
Financial results released this week for the first quarter of the season showed United’s wage bill has risen 23 percent.
However, that has not been rewarded on the field as the Red Devils find themselves 12 points adrift of Premier League leaders Chelsea down in seventh and out of the League Cup.
Much more was expected after steady progress during Solskjaer’s first two full seasons in charge.
He secured back-to-back top-four finishes in the Premier League for the first time since the club’s decline began with Alex Ferguson’s retirement as manager in 2013.
However, Solskjaer, who famously scored United’s winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, has failed to win a trophy since his return to the club.
His legendary status as a United player meant the 48-year-old retained the support of fans even as results went downhill in recent months.
But even they began to turn on him on Saturday as he was booed while holding his hands up in apology.
“We were outfought,” said Solskjaer. “The first half is the worst we’ve played and it’s hard for me to explain why we played the way we did.
“The boys are in a terrible place in their heads now — we have let ourselves down and the fans down. It’s hard to stand here and explain that, but that’s football and we have to take the flak for it.”
Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers and Ajax coach Erik ten Hag are the frontrunners to be Solskjaer’s successor.
Man Utd to sack Solskjaer after Watford humiliation: reports
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Man Utd to sack Solskjaer after Watford humiliation: reports
Barcelona pounces on Real Madrid stumble and regains lead of La Liga with a 3-0 win over Levante
- Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna
MADRID: Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble and regained the Spanish league lead with a comfortable 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday.
Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López scored a goal each as Barcelona ended a two-game losing streak to get back in front of rival Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-1 loss to Girona in the league and a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
“It was important to win and earn three points again,” Barcelona defender João Cancelo said. “Soccer gives you these opportunities to rebound and that’s what we did today, playing well again after two bad games.”
Barcelona had earned a clean sheet only once in its previous six games in all competitions.
Good start for Barcelona
Bernal scored from close range four minutes into the match at the Camp Nou Stadium. The 18-year-old Bernal had scored his first goal with the first team two rounds ago in a win over Mallorca.
“They had an early chance but my goal helped us settle and gain some confidence,” Bernal said.
De Jong added to the lead from inside the area in the 32nd and López sealed the victory with a beautiful long-range shot in the 81st, with the ball ricocheting off the post before going into the net.
Levante’s Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan kept Barcelona from adding the fourth with a pair of outstanding saves in a row in the final minutes, first off a header by Raphinha and then off a point-blank strike from López on the rebound.
It was the fourth straight defeat for Levante, which sits in 19th place. It is one point ahead of last-place Oviedo, which has a game in hand.
Levante has only one victory in its last eight matches.
Pedri entered the match in the 66th to make his return to action after an injury layoff.
Other results
Sevilla won 1-0 at 10-man Getafe for its second win in its last 10 matches in all competitions.
Djibril Sow scored a 64th-minute winner for the visitors. Getafe played a man down from the 26th after a straight red card for Djene Dakonam.
The result left Sevilla in 11th place, immediately above Getafe.
Third-place Villarreal, Barcelona’s next league opponent, can restore a three-point gap to fourth-place Atletico Madrid if it beats Valencia at home later Sunday. Atletico beat Espanyol 4-2 at home on Saturday.
