OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER admitted Manchester United’s defeat to Wolves in the FA Cup quarter-final was the worst performance since he took over as interim manager.

After a goalless first-half, thanks mainly to some outstanding goalkeeping from Sergio Romero in the United goal, Wolves began to overpower their visitors and deservedly took the lead on 70 minutes, Raul Jimenez swivelling in the box and crashing the ball home through a crowd of players.

Six minutes later the home side’s lead was doubled when Diogo Jota got the better of Luke Shaw on the break before firing past a stranded Romero.

United’s evening looked to have got worse when Victor Lindelof was shown a red card by referee Martin Atkinson for a challenge on Jota, but it was downgraded to a yellow following VAR review.

Marcus Rashford did eventually find the back of the net deep into injury time but it was to be no more than a consolation as Wolves secured their place in the semi-final of the competition for the first time in 21 years.

“It was a big step backwards,” said Solskjaer after the game. “That’s the poorest performance since I’ve come here.

“Lack of urgency, forward passing and regains. I told the players the truth. Of course you can’t sit down and sulk too long. Everyone is disappointed, but we have to move forward.”

It was a second defeat in a row for the first time under Solskjaer following last weekend’s loss away at Arsenal in a game that could have gone either way.

However, the Norwegian feels the result at Molineux was the correct one. 

He said: “We know that we played well against Arsenal last week and didn’t get what we deserved, but we got what we deserved today.”

And with the international break coming up, Solskjaer believes his players will be ready for a challenging April which sees them play some tough fixtures including Manchester City in the Premier League and Barcelona in the Champions League.

“We’re ready to go again after internationals, we’ve got so much to play for. For Man United April and May is always when they find their good form,” said the Norwegian.

“We can’t wait for the challenge for third [in the league] and a big night when Barca come. But don’t worry about the players attitude, when they come back they’ll give it a good go.”