Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted his side don’t have a mentality problem after their Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester City. The Red Devils lost a fourth straight semi-final under the 47-year-old, with John Stones and Fernandinho on target for the visitors. And it means their wait for silverware will go on.
Stones put City in front shortly after the interval, with the England international bumbling the ball home from close range.
And Fernandinho made the result safe for Pep Guardiola’s side late on, finding the net from the edge of the box with a powerful low shot.
For United, it was their fourth straight semi-final loss after defeats to City, Chelsea and Sevilla last season.
And Solskjaer, speaking after the game, has insisted his side don’t have a mentality problem when it comes to the big games.
“Manchester City can score many great goals. You can accept that,” he said.
“When you concede two simple set-plays, it’s very disappointing. Just not good enough in those moments.
THINK YOU KNOW SPORT? Test your sporting knowledge with our tricky quiz
And goalscorer Stones paid tribute to Citizens legend Colin Bell after the match, believing how they played was a reflection of their former star.
“I’d like to send our condolences for Colin Bell and his family.
“I think how we played today was a reflection of him. A great moment for us and hopefully he is looking down on us. It was a great occasion, another win against another of the top teams.
“[Pep Guardiola] just said ‘same again, same mentality, same everything’. We dealt with the problems well and just tried to be more clinical in the final third.
“We had so many chances, great chances, great moves to get into the box and we did a job at the end of the day.”