A sobering 3-0 defeat at Barcelona showed how far the Red Devils still have to come under the Norwegian
Manchester United were given a clear indication of the gap between themselves and Europe’s elite on Tuesday night, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer talking of a big rebuild at Old Trafford after losing to Barcelona.
Lionel Messi gleefully took advantage of some very sloppy play at the back in the first-half to all-but seal the deal with plenty of time left, and Philippe Coutinho silenced his critics with a wonderful curled finish to make the aggregate scoreline 4-0.
For the fans, watching Solskjaer’s amazing start at Old Trafford and subsequent tailing off has created a sense that their most recent form is, in fact, their more natural status. Form is temporary, class – or lack of – is permanent and all that.
Assessing United’s run to the Champions League quarter-finals, Solskjaer said: “We did well to get here and you could see the difference between the two teams.
“We know there’s work to be done, I’ve said all along this isn’t going to change overnight and the next few years are going to be massive for us to get to the level of Barcelona and other teams are at the moment.
“We’re on with the job and have spoken to the players about it as well.
“That we need to get the best out of each other, create an environment of top, top, top class attitude, world-class attitude every single day. Because we’ve got good players and I’ve got good players to work with.
“And, as I said, at the moment we’ve done really, really well to get to the quarters and challenge for top four.”
A shed load of players will be linked with United in the summer, with Jadon Sancho, Declan Rice, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Joao Felix just a few names supposedly in the mix. Furthermore, Ander Herrera is set to leave with Juan Mata and Matteo Darmian among those being pushed towards the exit door.
How the club operates in the market is vital to their future success, and Solskjaer himself knows that multiple major additions are needed to turn the ship around.
“We’ve got a rebuilding job but it starts with the coaches and players,” he added.
“And of course one or two additions to the squad will happen in the summer.”
