Jamie Carragher aims fresh criticism at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over Manchester United crowd comment

The Manchester United manager had a message for the fans but Carrgher was not impressed

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Manchester United’s win over Atalanta (AP)

Jamie Carragher has aimed fresh criticism at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the Manchester United manager questioned the Old Trafford crowd after the dramatic 3-2 win over Atalanta on Wednesday night.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s late winner capped a thrilling Champions League comeback which captivated the home crowd and Solskjaer could be seen soaking up the adulation of the Stratford End at the final whistle.

The crowd were not so happy when United reached half-time 2-0 down, however, and Solskjaer used a post-match interview to address their “grumbling” directly.

“This crowd should never stop believing in these players,” Solskjaer told CBS. “You do hear a little bit of grumbling. I’ve been here at this club for 18 years, more or less, and that hasn’t happened often. They know they’re better than that.”

Carragher criticised Solskjaer on this week’s Monday Night Football show, saying United needed a better head coach to compete with the best teams in the league, and speaking as a pundit for CBS, Carragher said Solskjaer’s message for the fans was “a silly thing to say”.

“I thought it was a strange interview, that,” Carragher said. “The comment he made about the fans was a silly thing to say. The fans I think won them that game in the second half.

“Man United, coming in at half-time 2-0 down to Atalanta and I don’t think they were that poor but you’re going to get grumblings, people who are unhappy. It’s not just that game, it’s a poor run of games and the performance they had at Leicester. When that ground is rocking, it is difficult to stop.

“I have been there as a player and it’s difficult to stop, teams get deeper and deeper. The supporters are as important as Cristiano Ronaldo, or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, or the changes he made in the second half.

“It was a really silly thing to say that the supporters should know better when they played such a huge part in winning them the game.”

United next play Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday in a crucial Premier League meeting.