Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Slams 'Non-Existent' Manchester United Defending from Front

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer criticised his forward players for their defensive work rate in the Red Devils' 1-0 UEFA Europa League win over Partizan Belgrade on Thursday. 

Anthony Martial was deployed up front with Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata providing support behind him.

Solskjaer gave his thoughts to MUTV after the match:

He said:

"Second half I thought we dug in really well in the box, defended really well in the box. They played well in the second half and made us defend too deep.

"I'm not happy with the defending at the front. I think that's been one of our fortes and strengths this season. I thought that was non-existent in the second half.

"That needs sorting out because we don't want to be a team who is just defending inside our box."

Martial returned to the starting lineup for the first time since August 24 after sitting out eight matches with a hamstring injury, while Lingard had missed United's last two games, also with a hamstring problem.

The former scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, after Nemanja Miletic fouled Brandon Williams shortly before half-time.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News thought neither Martial nor Lingard were ready based on what he saw:

That could explain why they did not offer as much as Solskjaer would have liked.

The Norwegian also wants to see more from his side in an attacking sense, too. Per the Mirror's Liam Prenderville, he told MUTV:

"We're going to host [Partizan] and go all out to get that win and the last two games we know we're through then.

"It's a great position to be in so far and we haven't conceded a goal so defensively we have done really well but we know we need to score more goals."

United picked up a 1-0 win at home to Astana in their opening match in Group L, before being held to a goalless draw at AZ Alkmaar.

They're two points clear of the Dutch side halfway through the group stage, and as Solskjaer noted, a win over Partizan next time out will secure passage to the knockout phase.

Their performances have been far from convincing, though. United did not manage a single shot on target against AZ, and it took them until the penalty to register one against Partizan, per football writer Daniel Storey:

It was the only one they managed, so they've not hit the target from open play in the Europa League since Astana's visit to Old Trafford.

ESPN's Alex Shaw bemoaned the Red Devils' inability to secure a second goal:

United have only found the net more than once in a game on one occasion in all competitions this season, and that was in the 4-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day of the campaign.

The side were even held to a 1-1 draw at home to Rochdale in the Carabao Cup, in which they only progressed via a penalty shootout.

The Red Devils let Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave the club in the summer without replacing them, which has been a contributing factor in their struggles.

It was poor planning on the club's behalf, and they can't rectify it until at least January, so they'll need to make do in the meantime.

It's no coincidence that chief creator Paul Pogba has also been absent for much of the campaign through injury, but United's attacking players haven't offered enough, either.

Martial now has three goals and an assist in four starts this season, so when he's back to full fitness he could make a difference for them in the final third.