Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists he is not angry with Jesse Lingard over his decisive miss in Manchester United's galling Premier League defeat at Watford.
Lingard was played through by Anthony Martial in the goalless first-half but dinked the ball onto the roof of Ben Foster's net. The 27-year-old has now gone over 25 hours since his last goal or assist in the Premier League.
Lingard's latest act of profligacy was punished in the second-half when David de Gea's clanger and a mistimed tackle by Aaron Wan-Bissaka gifted goals to Ismaila Sarr and Troy Deeney, via the penalty spot, to inflict a fifth league defeat on United this term.
Solskjaer retained Lingard in the playmaker role despite his unconvincing performance against Everton last week but refused to dig out the forward after his impotent finish.
"You can't be angry," Solskjaer said. "But it's a chance he would normally put away and should put away, but you can't be angry with players making mistakes. Why?
"It's part of life and part of football."
Harry Maguire, United's captain again, was more forthright in his analysis of Lingard's miss. "He knows he has to score," Maguire told Sky Sports.
"That was a big chance in the game. The first goal is crucial. I missed one against Newcastle and we went on to lose. He has missed it, we moved on. We still had to go on and win the game but we didn't.
"We were not good enough and we have to improve. It is something we cannot put our finger on. We are working hard in training. It is disappointing."
Lingard's last league goal was in Solskjaer's first match as United caretaker manager in the 5-1 stroll at Cardiff on December 22 last year.
