'Last year we would have gone four or five down' - Solskjaer hails Man Utd comeback despite late Sheffield United equaliser

Peter Lynch

'Last year we would have gone four or five down' - Solskjaer hails Man Utd comeback despite late Sheffield United equaliser image

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes his side have improved from last season, despite drawing at newly-promoted Sheffield United.

Former Man Utd trialist Oli McBurnie scored a 90th-minute equaliser to level the game at 3-3  after the visitors scored three in seven minutes to overturn a 2-0 deficit just 10 minutes from time.

Despite conceding late on and missing out on three valuable points on the road, Solskjaer praised his side for coming back from two goals down.

"Sometimes football is beyond tactics,” he told Sky Sports . “The energy compared to ours in the first half and then we get that goal and we start to believe. 

“The difference in the team this year compared to last is huge. They never give in. Last year we would have gone four or five down instead of coming back. We would not have been able to come back.”

The Red Devils have now failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 12 top-flight away matches, their worst run since going 15 games without a clean sheet in the 1985-86 campaign .

Goals from John Fleck and Lys Mousset either side of half-time condemned the away side to another disappointing start, with Solskjaer admitting that the first 45 minutes cost his team all three points on the day.

“Sheffield United looked like they wanted it more than us and believed in their game plan more than we did. We did not have a shot on target first half which is not acceptable.

“When you are 2-0 down you have to go for it, play with less fear and just go for it. The average ages of the goals is less than 20, it’s something we are proud of. It’s a great experience for our young players because it’s not easy to come back at a place like this.

And on how he felt after the game, Solskjaer added: “It’s mixed emotions. We cannot be happy, we have not performed for the majority of the game but we turned it around and we showed what we could be capable of. 

“We have to do it now for a whole game. We know we can, we just have to show it.”

Peter Lynch