Manchester United vs Manchester City result: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits his side are not ‘good enough’

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that despite his squad raising their efforts from the dismal defeat to Everton last weekend, his Manchester United side are simply “not good enough” to match the superior quality of Manchester City.

City ultimately strolled to a 2-0 victory in the Manchester derby, after overcoming an initially nervy start thanks to two second-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane, and took a decisive step towards defending the Premier League title.

The result condemned Solskjaer’s side to their seventh defeat in nine games, their worst run since 1962, and landed a further blow to the club’s top-four prospects and a squad who appear on the verge of unravelling.

Speaking after the game, Solskjaer said: “We got a reaction and in the end we were beaten by a better team. But we got a reaction from fans and players and had a go. You can see the work-rate was there, it wasn’t good enough.

“There is a difference in quality. That is why they are top and we are where we are. They have set the standard. Living in Manchester we cannot be happy with that. It is up to us to close that gap and overtake them.

“Today you can’t say that any of them didn’t run. You could see clearly an intent and focus. We just need to keep working on it.

“City want to win it back and by their aggression to win it back there will be fouls. They keep the ball high and are hungry to win it back. They stopped us very well.

Solskjaer also leapt to the defence of goalkeeper David De Gea, after the Spaniard was twice beaten at his near post after a dreadful error at the Nou Camp last week.

Leroy Sane’s whipped shot for City’s second goal could easily have been prevented by the goalkeeper, but his attempted block with his right leg saw the ball slice into the corner of the goal.

“David [De Gea] made some terrific saves as well today,” Solskjaer said. ”It is every day work for everyone. He has high standards. When we are having a time like this we need to stick together, batten the hatches down and keep working. We have to come back fighting on Sunday.”