Africa-Press-Uganda Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under renewed pressure after Manchester United were outclassed 2-0 by Manchester City on Saturday as Norwich sacked manager Daniel Farke despite their first Premier League win of the season.
Struggling Burnley struck late to draw 1-1 at Chelsea while Eddie Howe watched a 1-1 draw from the stands in Brighton as Newcastle edged closer to appointing a new boss.
Two weeks after their embarrassing 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Liverpool, United were again palpably second best in a limp display at Old Trafford.
Eric Bailly’s own goal and Bernardo Silva’s strike on the stroke of half-time proved the difference but goalkeeper David de Gea made a string of saves to prevent another drubbing.
United have won just one of their past six Premier League games, giving Solskjaer — and club bosses — plenty to ponder during the international break.
Last week’s 3-0 win at Tottenham gave Solskjaer hope his team had turned the corner and a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal earned them a valuable Champions League point against Atalanta in midweek.
The Norwegian admitted his men, who finished second behind City in the Premier League table last season, were well below par.
But despite the string of poor results, he said he did not feel he was on borrowed time at the club, trophyless since 2017.
“I have good communication all the time with the club and that’s very up front and honest about the situation,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports.
“I work for Man United and I want the best for Man United and of course as long as I’m here I want to do what I can to improve this.”
City deservedly took the lead in the seventh minute when Bailly sliced Joao Cancelo’s cross into his own net.
De Gea kept the marauding City attackers at bay but was at fault for their second when Silva stretched a leg to meet Cancelo’s cross and the United stopper allowed the ball to squirm into his own net.
City boss Pep Guardiola praised his team after the win, which lifted them above Liverpool to second in the table and to within three points of Chelsea.
“The best way to silence Old Trafford is to have the ball with a lot of passes and attack the box in the right moments and we did that,” he said. “We played a really good game.”
