Man United suffered their first defeat since the resumption, losing 3-1 to Chelsea in the semi-final of the FA Cup on Sunday.
The Red Devils took the field in a changed formation but they eventually had to revert back to a 4-2-3-1 formation due to the head injury to Eric Bailly. And according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there was a lapse of concentration after the injury which helped Chelsea take control of the match.
“We picked a team today to give us the best possible opportunity to go through in the cup and be ready for Wednesday,” Solskjaer explained, as reported by MEN. “It didn’t work today.
“We almost came to half-time, but we had to change when Eric had to come off but that will stand us in good stead for Wednesday. I picked a team today to go through.
“Eric is in hospital, going through all the routine checks and protocols. He got a cut in the back of his head as well. I don’t really know [about his condition], I haven’t heard, or spoken to the doctor about it. It had a big, big impact on the game.
“Eric played well in the 42 minutes he stayed on and we conceded just after the restart there, which was very disappointing. Eric was a big part of us not having any chances against us, really.
“The blow to Eric’s head when Harry and Eric stayed down for a long time, we seemed to lose concentration for a little while and losing the goal straight after had a massive impact on the game.”
The injury to Eric Bailly was really a concerning factor but despite that, Man United looked disjointed and out of ideas from the very first minute of the match.
Initially, they failed to adjust to the new system and by the time they tried to take control of the match, Chelsea were already 3-0 ahead in the game.
And this defeat will be really nerve-racking for Man United since they will now go into the final two games of the Premier League under immense pressure.
