Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that his Manchester United side’s performance in Saturday’s narrow 1-0 victory against West Brom was ‘way below par’.
The Red Devils clinched their first win at Old Trafford in the Premier League this season, with Bruno Fernandes’ retaken penalty in the second half securing all three points.
The clash was marred by VAR controversy, with the Baggies having their own spot-kick decision overturned by referee David Coote after a pitch-side review.
Coote initially handed Slaven Bilic’s side a penalty following Bruno Fernandes’ tackle on Conor Gallagher, but later reversed his call after going to the monitor as he deemed the Red Devils midfielder to have got the slightest touch on the ball.
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United took the lead not long later from 12 yards as Fernandes found the back of the net from the spot on his second attempt, with West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone way off his line when saving the Portugal international’s first effort.
The Red Devils managed to create chances, but Johnstone made a number of key saves between the sticks for the Baggies.
And speaking after the game, Solskjaer conceded that his side’s laboured display was not a ‘step forward’ after their more impressive 3-1 victory away at Everton before the international break.
‘It’s definitely not a step forward performance-wise,’ he said in his post-match press conference.
‘We played really well against Everton last time. That’s a performance I was really happy with.
‘This one was way below par and sometimes three points are more important than performance, even though we know that to move up the table we have to play better.
‘After the international break it isn’t easy, there’s not much time to prepare for the game.’
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