Pressure intensifies on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United swing wildly from brilliant to embarrassing

The mood at Old Trafford is darkening after a woeful Champions League defeat against Basaksehir and leaves the Norwegian manager needing a result at Everton this weekend

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: Dean Henderson, 6: Picked amid claims from his manager that he had matured. He had kept a clean sheet in his two previous games this season. Couldn’t manage it in his third. Can’t be blamed for goals. Reuters

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 5: Up down, up down. His role, his form. Getty

Harry Maguire, 5: Didn’t look like the captain was leading his own defence, let alone team. United’s shape when they lost the ball for the first goal was all wrong and, according to Solskjaer, not the goal you expect to see at this level. AFP

Axel Tuanzebe, 4: Played because Lindelof had a bad back. Booked after 20 minutes chasing Ba, aged 35. Even the Istanbul coach was surprised his side scored such a goal. Fantastic in Paris, flustered in Istanbul. AP

Luke Shaw, 7: Very advanced – and being up for corners left defence exposed. Shot across goal early in game and crossed for Martial’s header just before half time. Made more key passes than anyone. United’s best player. AP

Nemanja Matic, 5: The deepest United player for Istanbul’s opener – despite being well in the opponents’ half. Poor first half, then dropped to be central defender for second, but was still pushed off the ball by Gulbrandsen. Too static. AFP

Juan Mata, 5: Seldom involved and easily dispossessed by Turuc for Istanbul’s second. Played well in previous starts this season, but not tonight. AFP

Donny van de Beek, 6: Got on the ball, played deeper than usual, though at least he played. Lively, tackled and was first to come off because manager felt the team were leaning to the left. Getty

Bruno Fernandes, 6: Volley wide after five, good balls forward, though his poor ball back to Mata contributed to Basaksehir's second. Free kick tested Gunok and had twice as many shots (4) as anyone on the pitch but ultimately couldn’t help get the breakthrough. AFP

Anthony Martial, 5. Skilfully aimed header for United’s goal, but limited threat and ran in blind alleys. Getty

Marcus Rashford, 4: Did he play? United forced one shot on target from open play. AP

SUBS: Scott McTominay (on for Tuanzebe, 45) 6: Vocal – as he was against Arsenal and one of United’s better players. AP

Edinson Cavani (on for Mata, 60) 5: Poor service, a few touches. Needs a goal. At least his made the opposing manager happy by giving him his shirt as a present for his son. AFP

Paul Pogba (on for Van de Beek, 61) 5: Involved, but struggled to break down the Turkish wall. Reuters

Timothy Fosu-Mensah (on for Wan Bissaka, 75) N/A: Fast recovery when Gulbrandsen pushed forward for a third. Reuters

Mason Greenwood (on for Rashford, 75) N/A: Little impact. Reuters

The yin and yang of Manchester United in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era, and especially under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, continues.

Beat Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, two of the best teams in the world; fail to win any of the opening four home league games. Go ten games away games with straight wins, including at Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG and Leicester. Fail to win in six home league games.

United’s fortunes go in an out like the tide. A few victories and the young team is praised for its attacking flair, for its improvement and knitting together. The talent is clearly there. Lose a few and criticism flies with justification. League titles are won by consistent teams and United haven’t been close since 2013.

Sign a player like Bruno Fernandes, as United did in January, and the team is transformed going unbeaten in 17 matches, but United have since lost six of their last 17 since that run ended in the FA Cup semi final, including four of the eleven games so far this season.

The tide is well and truly out this week after two insipid defeats in four days at home to Arsenal and away to Istanbul Basaksehir – hardly world-beaters themselves.

Support for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from the so far patient United fans is eroding.

The Norwegian will have been in the job for two years next month, but his side remain wildly inconsistent.

Fans have been supportive and Solskjaer has appreciated that, just as his predecessors David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho did, but with no fans inside stadiums it is harder to gauge that support in the seething online morass of invective and despair.

There has been no appetite for sacking Solskjaer within the club itself. United are trying to ride out the weekly roller coaster of their support’s emotions, but the pressure grows.

Little appetite for a fifth permanent manager since Ferguson stepped down since 2013, but heavy pressure is applied by a non-stop news cycle where Mauricio Pochettino is what Mourinho was in 2016, the top level out of work manager saying the right things and smiling at potential suitors.

He’d be the favourite if Ed Woodward sacks his fourth manager, but for now United want to stick with the Norwegian. To be as patient as Martin Edwards was with Ferguson, build a solid base while knowing there will be ups and down along the way. Yet at the same time, Solskjaer is in a job which requires results and there has to be minimum requirements. United are one of the three biggest football clubs in the world after all.

Few United fans expected to win the Premier League this season, but nor did they expected to see their team 15th in the table with seven points from six games. It’s a surprising as Barcelona’s eight points from six.

There are echoes of last season when United had 11 points after eight matches and won only four of their first 14 league games. A repeat won’t be stomached by fans.

Fans expected to see continued improvements with a maturing team supplemented by the manager’s signings in his four transfer windows so far, but what they have been presented with is clearly not sufficient.

In mitigation, United had four full days of pre-season training against the usual 26, but that home league form isn’t excused by it. Other clubs have had more serious injuries or missed more players to Covid, yet only Burnley have picked up less than United’s one point at home – though even they have played a game less. No team has a worse home goal difference than United’s at -8.

United’s next game is at Everton early on Saturday before a two week international break. When Solskjaer has time to prepare his team, he usually does it well, but he has to work quickly for Saturday – and he needs to get a result at Goodison to pick the mood up off the floor.