Solskjaer Makes Confession About Mason Greenwood Following Manchester United’s League Cup Exit

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that it was “too late” by the time Mason Greenwood made his impact as Manchester United crashed out of the League Cup on Wednesday.

Argentinean midfielder Manuel Lanzini put West Ham 1-0 up with his ninth-minute strike. Greenwood came off the bench for Manchester United after 60 minutes of the play but failed to convert any of his chances as the London club maintained the lead till the final whistle.

"Mason came on and made a positive impact, no doubt about it. He was fresh, sharp and could have got a goal, but it was too little, too late. In the last six or seven minutes, of course, we’re going to go gung-ho and they could have scored a couple," Solskjaer was quoted by Man Utd’s official website, as saying after the 1-0 loss in the League Cup.

The latest loss to West Ham was the Red Devils’ second defeat of the season in two weeks, with the first one coming against Swiss club Young Boys in the Champions League. Whereas, Solskjaer’s side so far is unbeaten in the league, with four wins and a draw and is placed third in the 2021-22 Premier League table.

Solskjaer also said that his side did not create enough chances against West Ham that led to their elimination from the League Cup, a domestic title that they last won in the 2016-17 season.

"We didn’t create enough big chances, we built pressure, but we couldn’t [score]. We had a couple of big chances - Mason [Greenwood] came on, had a decent one. We built pressure but sometimes you know that pressure doesn’t come to anything," the Norwegian boss added.

The Red Devils have been without their key forward Marcus Rashford, who had undergone surgery ahead of the 2021-22 season. While the Englishman will not return until mid-October, Brazilian defender Alex Telles, who sustained a calf injury during the pre-season campaign, is nearing a return.

"They’ve worked really hard, both of them. Alex is a bit further on than Marcus. I don’t think we’ll see Marcus until after the international break but Alex has worked well and will be in the squad as well," Solskjaer earlier told Man Utd’s media.

Manchester United’s upcoming game is a home league meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday.