Solskjaer’s squad got off to a flying start, with England prodigy Mason Greenwood blasting United ahead after only 18 minutes.
Leicester came racing back on an afternoon when United struggled, with goals from Youri Tielemans and Caglar Soyuncu turning the game on its head.
Soyuncu’s goal set off a wild finish to the game, with Marcus Rashford equalising minutes later, only for Jamie Vardy to put Leicester back ahead 54 seconds later.
Patson Daka’s first goal for Leicester sealed the victory in the closing seconds, leaving United with no wins in their previous three Premier League games and only one in their last five games overall.
The result ended United’s 29-game undefeated run away from home, a league record in England. When asked about his team’s performance, the Norwegian described it as a “poor day.”
“It’s always difficult when you arrive here, and then you have to perform to achieve results,” he said, according to the Manchester United website.
“And, of course, we had to get lost somewhere away from home one day. We didn’t deserve more since we didn’t play well enough in the Premier League to earn points. So we have to look at it and learn from it, which, of course, we’ve got time to do now over the international break. We simply didn’t do things well enough today.”
Despite the huge resources provided to Solskjaer’s as he seeks to rebuild United, the results for those expenditures have been little. After taking over in December after Jose Mourinho was fired, the team finished sixth in the Premier League in his first season in charge.
United have placed third and second in his two full seasons since, but have failed to win any trophy, being runner-up in the Europa League last season.
And, although the talent level may have been questioned under previous managers, it is more difficult to do so under Solskjaer’s.
The additions of Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Varane, and Jadon Sancho have changed the squad, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s return appearing to be the final piece of the puzzle.
However, at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, Solskjaer’s team were totally unprepared, with Leicester clearly the stronger side.
The team seemed chaotic at times, and despite its offensive brilliance, it lacked penetration. And this was against a Leicester team that hadn’t won in the league since August 28.
“We didn’t deserve a single point. We took the lead, Mason shown his ability, and then we scored. All of the goals we gave up were disappointing in the manner in which they were given up. It wasn’t only the midfield, but we were far too simple to exploit. Perhaps we provided too much room, but it was the case for the entire squad. I agree that we didn’t do enough to protect. We simply didn’t do things well enough today.”
