Solskjaer made five changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace on Thursday, withdrawing
Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial among others, and switching to a back three with split strikers.
United used the formation in their two wins at Chelsea this season yet the reliance on the tactic backfired in a 3-1 defeat that will prolong United’s three-year trophy drought well into August.
Although United struggled in the system, the game was goalless until they had to switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation that was prompted by the removal of Eric Bailly after he clashed heads with teammate Harry Maguire.
“We picked a team today to give us the best possible opportunity to go through in the cup and be ready for Wednesday,” Solskjaer explained. “It didn’t work today.
“We almost came to half-time, but we had to change when Eric had to come off but that will stand us in good stead for Wednesday. I picked a team today to go through.
“Eric is in hospital, going through all the routine checks and protocols. He got a cut in the back of his head as well. I don’t really know [about his condition], I haven’t heard, or spoken to the doctor about it. It had a big, big impact on the game.
“Eric played well in the 42 minutes he stayed on and we conceded just after the restart there, which was very disappointing. Eric was a big part of us not having any chances against us, really.
“The blow to Eric’s head when Harry and Eric stayed down for a long time, we seemed to lose concentration for a little while and losing the goal straight after had a massive impact on the game.”
United host West Ham in their penultimate Premier League match of the season on Wednesday after Leicester were humbled 3-0 by Tottenham. If United gain at least a point against West Ham they will go top outright and the margin of Leicester’s defeat in London means their goal difference is now the same as United’s.
“It’s between us, Chelsea and Leicester, those last two positions,” Solskjaer added. “The more help we get from others, the better, of course. But if we do our job on Wednesday we will be in a good position before we go into the Leicester game [on the final day]. If we can win that one we can qualify.
“We’ve just got to regroup and go again against West Ham on Wednesday. We have to learn, we’ve got loads of things to learn as a team and this team is developing and took a knock today, confidence-wise. But let’s see the reaction on Wednesday.”
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