Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leapt to the defence of David de Gea after the under-fire goalkeeper’s latest blunder cost Manchester United a vital win against Chelsea.
De Gea followed up high-profile errors against Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City by spilling Antonio Rudiger’s shot at Old Trafford, allowing Marcos Alonso to equalise in a 1-1 draw.
United’s top-four hopes now hang in the balance, but Solskjaer said: “There is no chance anyone can blame him for losing points – he’s not the reason we’re sixth.
“He knows he could have had that shot, but that’s football. There’s no reason to hide that, but no chance any of us will point fingers at him.
“David has been unbelievable for this club. We do support each other.
“I don’t really have concerns because I know him. When you’re a goalkeeper or a striker, you’re always in the spotlight, and if you miss a chance or score, you get good or bad headlines.
“It’s the same with David. He’s been in the spotlight for the right reasons for so long, and he’s going through a period where he could have done better, but I don’t have any worries about him.
“He’s a strong character. There are many different ways of getting back to your best performances and, of course, I’ll sit down and speak to David as I’ve done when he’s played well.
“You cannot say there’s any complacency, he’s not the type.”
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/MUTV?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MUTVhis take on a frustrating afternoon for #MUFC. pic.twitter.com/ydI06jfhew
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
United missed the chance to leapfrog Arsenal and join Chelsea in fourth place, and still trail Maurizio Sarri’s side by three points with two games left to play.
“If you look at the league table, it’s going to be difficult,” added Solskjaer.
“We must dust ourselves down and win the next two. You never know, as points are being dropped left, right and centre.”
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/MUTV?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MUTVafter the match. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/TnmM26sNW6
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
The United boss confirmed that Eric Bailly will miss the final two games against Huddersfield and Cardiff with a knee injury, while Marcus Rashford succumbed to a shoulder problem.
Chelsea lost Willian after he was the victim of a nasty challenge from Marcos Rojo, which Sarri thought was deserving of more than a yellow card.
“The card was an orange card, between red and yellow,” said the Chelsea boss, who added that he did not think Nemanja Matic intended to catch Cesar Azpilicueta in the face with his arm in the first half.
On Rojo, he added: “It’s not easy for the referee, but in my opinion, the yellow card was not enough.”