Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was left to rue Manchester United’s defending from set-pieces and acknowledges his team remain below the level of the top sides after another cup defeat at the last-four stage.
Last season saw the Red Devils lose semi-finals in the League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League – and now they have followed suit with defeat to neighbouring rivals Manchester City.
A 2-0 loss on home soil came after John Stones got on the end of a free-kick and Fernandinho netted after a corner wasn’t cleared, leaving Solskjaer frustrated at his team’s inability to defend basic deliveries.
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“City can score great goals and you can accept that, but when you concede two set-piece goals we’re very disappointed and it wasn’t good enough at those moments,” the United manager told Sky Sports.
“We didn’t create enough big chances ourselves and we didnt have the extra finesse that we have had in games lately. We weren’t good enough.”
Asked whether another defeat at the last-four stage represented a bit of a mentality block, Solskjaer was dismissive of it being a problem and simply responded that at this stage of his rebuild, United remain behind the top teams in the country.
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That’s despite them having risen to second in the Premier League table behind Liverpool, having been on a run of seven matches unbeaten in all competitions since their disappointing Champions League exit last month.
“We played against a very good Man City team and they played well – the reality of where we’re at is: when they play up to their best, we are just lacking that little bit.
“When you lose a semi-final you think they deserved it but we’re getting closer. This is a much better version of Man United than last year’s semis. That’s positive, but it’s not enough.
“It’s not psychological, sometimes you meet good teams in the semis and we just didn’t have enough. They are probably the best team in England.”
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