MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Lee Pulliam may have struggled to crack a smile after Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300, but he still had plenty to celebrate as he left the Martinsville Speedway grounds.

Pulliam’s fifth-career runner-up finish in the Martinsville late model stock car special was just enough to secure his second Virginia Triple Crown Series championship, edging out Peyton Sellers by a single finishing position for the $7,000 top prize.

The Virginia Triple Crown is an annual three-race series encompassing the premier races at South Boston Speedway (South Boston 200), Langley Speedway (Hampton Heat 200) and Martinsville.

The series champion is determined by the lowest average finish across the three races, and eligible drivers must start all three features. Pulliam’s total score of 10 left him with an average finish of 3.33, while Sellers’ combined score of 11 gave him an average finish of 3.67, just short of the prize.

Those totals were the focus in the final laps, as Pulliam put on a furious scrap with Timothy Peters in the closing laps before securing second place for good with four laps left.

Considering that Sellers had a win in his back pocket – and by virtue of that, the tiebreaker over Pulliam – going into Martinsville, the four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion knew that every position in the final laps could make the difference in winning or losing the Triple Crown.

“That was a hell of a battle there. It got pretty intense there, beating back and forth, but really Timothy ran me fairly clean,” said Pulliam. “He gave me a little bit of a rub; I rubbed him just a little bit to get under him, but that battle was pretty clean. The 22 (Bobby McCarty) was kind of rough, but it was exciting. That’s just hard racing. Everybody finished in one piece, and that’s what it’s all about.

“I never thought once that I had it, because I’ve been in that position before, and honestly I was just trying to win the race,” Pulliam added. “I wasn’t even thinking about the Triple Crown. At the end of the day, we won the battle for second, and that was the best we could do with where Josh (Berry) was.”

As he reflected on the night as a whole, Pulliam did give major credit where it was deserved: to the No. 88 JR Motorsports squad of Berry, who led all 200 laps of Saturday night’s feature in convincing fashion.

“The (No.) 88 car, I don’t know what the heck they had, but that thing was unbelievable. I mean, I can’t ever remember seeing a car be that dominant here. Good job to those guys; I know they worked hard. Josh is a really good driver and when you’re driving good stuff, often enough good things will happen.

“We were all racing for second in this one. The best car went to victory lane this weekend.”

Saturday night marked the unprecedented fifth time in Pulliam’s career that he’s finished second in the quest for the grandfather clock, a statistic that had the Semora, N.C., veteran shaking his head.

“It’s my fifth time finishing second here, and man … I’ve won it twice, but I think I’m like the king of seconds here,” Pulliam noted. “So anyhow, one spot short again.”

Asked if securing the Triple Crown took some of the sting out of yet another runner-up finish at Martinsville, Pulliam chuckled quietly before offering a small nod in response.

“It does help,” Pulliam told SPEED SPORT. “I tried to take the high road with that deal with Peyton. I got spun a couple times, and I had the opportunity to wreck him tonight, but I just told the guys that I wasn’t gonna race him like that. I wanted to race hard and race for positions, and I think that you get rewarded when you do good stuff like that. We won the thing by one position and I can go to sleep at night when I get home. He ran me clean tonight, too. It was just really cool to win it.

“I’ve won it before, and it’s a neat deal to be a repeat champion of that series, but this weekend was all about that grandfather clock and it was tough to lose it being one spot away tonight.”

HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, Belgium – Loris Hezemans locked up the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series ELITE 1 championship with a sixth-place victory in Sunday’s finale at Circuit Zolder.

Meanwhile, Stienes Longin grabbed his first NASCAR Whelen Euro Series ELITE 1 victory in front of his home crowd.

Hezemans’ championship was already in the books when the 22-year-old Dutchman completed the first of the race’s 18 laps in the rain at Circuit Zolder. He mastered the slippery track and brought home a solid sixth place to win the championship and the Junior Trophy. Hendriks Motorsport also won the team championship with it’s No. 50 Ford Mustang driven by Hezemans and Giorgio Maggi, who ended up second in the ELITE 2 division.

“It’s not sinking in yet,” said Hezemans while holding the trophy in victory lane. “The donuts after the checkered flag were so much fun. I never did them before in a race car. It was a crazy race and probably the most hectic few laps in my life. The car was going left and right all the time. I was just thinking: ‘bring it home, bring it home!’ Those were the longest laps in my life. For 2020 I hope for more races in America and this title is such a good opportunity. My heart still belongs with Euro NASCAR and I really hope to build a NASCAR career from here.”

Hezemans was very strong in the second half of the season, scoring three wins in five races. He overtook Longin in the points standings with two clutch wins in the Semi Finals at Hockenheim and secured the title with two additional top-10s during the Finals at Circuit Zolder.

Longin ended up second in points but the greatest joy for him was winning his first ELITE 1 division race in front of his home crowd. He finally went to victory lane to cap his most competitive season in Euro NASCAR and he did it one year after losing two races to Alon Day at Circuit Zolder. This time, Longin was unbeatable in the treacherous weather conditions and Day had to settle for second after surrendering the lead to the Belgian on lap seven.

Following Thomas Ferrando’s win on Saturday, Longin became the seventh different winner of the season.

“It’s an awesome feeling, I cannot describe it,” said Longin. “In the last six laps, when it started raining so heavy, my windshield wiper stopped working. It was a heck of a challenge and a crazy drive. Next year I will aim for the title again as this year. I will give my best again in the 2020 season.”

It was Marc Goossens took over third place in the last lap when Jacques Villeneuve, who was holding on to a place on the podium after starting from the pole, suddenly slipped down to seventh with visibility issue on his No. 32 Go Fas Racing Camaro. Goossens crafted his way through the final laps and scored his second consecutive podium.

Returning Alex Sedgwick won the Junior Trophy race ahead of Gianmarco Ercoli and Hezemans.

With his ninth Challenger Trophy triumph of the season, Henri Tuomaala won the special classification dedicated to silver and bronze drivers in the ELITE 1 Division. Mauro Trione was second ahead of Kenko Miura.

AUSTIN, Texas – Even though he only needed to start the race to secure the Trans-Am Series TA2 powered by AEM championship, Marc Miller took an emphatic victory at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday.

Miller’s No. 40 Prefix/Stevens-Miller Racing Dodge Challenger was fastest in testing, practice, qualifying, and ultimately the 100-mile TA2 feature on Sunday. But as easy as he made it look on the iconic 3.427-mile, 20-turn circuit, the race was by no means an easy one for Miller to win.

Scott Lagasse Jr. kept Miller honest for most of the 25 laps, even leading the race at one point.  But Miller pulled it together, clinching his championship in style with his fourth win of the season.

Lagasse finished a close second, with Edward Sevadjian claiming his first TA2 podium with a third-place finish.

“I loved that race,” said Miller. “Scott (Lagasse Jr.) and I raced each other clean, but hard. It was so fun. I wasn’t even thinking about the championship until right now and it feels great. To not only win it for our team but to win for Prefix on their 40th anniversary, how amazing is that?! The day would be perfect if my family were here to celebrate.”

Lagasse got the jump on the start and went from a fourth-place start to second before entering turn one. Miller pulled a six-second gap by lap six but, all of that would change when an extended caution period eliminated his advantage.

Excelling at restarts, Lagasse whipped to the outside of Miller and took the lead entering into turn one. The former NASCAR driver lead for three laps until Miller repaid the favor. Lagasse was relentless in the pursuit for his first win of the season, glued to the No. 40’s bumper for the remainder of the race, but the clock expired before he could make a successful move for first. Lagasse settled for second, which satisfied the SLR/Fields Racing driver after suffering a total loss at Virginia Int’l Raceway just two weeks ago and his past experience at COTA.

“Marc (Miller) needed to make some mistakes so I could win,” Lagasse laughed. “SLR/Fields Racing guys really put in the time to get the new car put together for the race. We had terrible luck here last year, not even starting the race, so to go out there and have great battles with Marc (Miller) was the comeback we needed.”

Texas native Sevadjian’s No. 38 Chevrolet Camaro was in pieces last week, but his Leadfoot Racing team finished the build on Tuesday, just in time to load up for race weekend.  Fighting heat and a few teething issues, Sevadjian wheeled his brand new machine to his first TA2 podium finish.

“We felt the Texas heat today,” Sevadjian said following the race. “Being that the car was brand new, we hadn’t run it with a full tank of gas. The weight distribution of the gas changed the handling a bit and it was a battle to finish where we did. Considering the car was just put together this week, we are extremely happy with a podium finish. It’s more than we expected heading into the weekend.”

Rookie Lawless Alan placed his No. 52 AutoParkIT Ford Mustang just outside of podium position, in fourth. Keith Prociuk charged through the field, starting from 32nd to finish fifth.

Brad McAllister locked up the Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli West Coast Championship by three points with his win over Anthony Honeywell Sunday at COTA. McAllister entered the weekend trailing Honeywell by two points. Nabbing an extra two points for qualifying second, McAllister needed a race win to secure the championship.

Ethan Wilson, in the No. 25 BC Race Cars/Western Grinding Services Chevrolet Camaro, lead for the majority of the race, and McAllister’s chances of clinching the championship looked bleak until Wilson experienced mechanical issues that forced him to retire the race early.

Wilson’s misfortune lead to McAllister’s gain as he crossed the finish line first for the West Coast bunch, earning his first Trans Am championship.

“I am really proud of all the West Coast guys, we came here and matched up with the National guys with three of us finishing in the top-10,” said McAllister. “I’ve been racing in the West Coast Championship since its inception in 2017. It’s great that Trans-Am indroduced the series out west because it allows guys like me to race in a professional series at an affordable cost. I look forward to coming back next season to defend my title.”

Honeywell finished second on the day, missing out on championship glory by three points. Matthew Butson (No. 19 Butson Racing Chevrolet Camaro) rounded out the podium in third.

Michael Mihld ‘s fifth-place finish, in the No. 55 Michael Mihld Racing / Chevrolet Camaro, earned him enough points to finish take third in the West Coast Championship.

DOVER, Del. – Kyle Larson punched his ticket to the third round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a victory Sunday at Dover Int’l Speedway.

Larson, who hadn’t won in NASCAR Cup Series competition since 2017, ran in the top-five for the first portion of the race but didn’t take command of the Drydene 400 until after the completion of the second stage.

Martin Truex Jr., who had battled by polesitter Denny Hamlin to win the second stage, led Larson and the rest of the field down pit road for pit stops after the second stage. Unfortunately for Truex his rear tire changer slipped coming around the car and fell, which also caused the direction of the air gun to change upon impact with the ground.

The delay caused by the falling crew member cost Truex greatly, dropping him from the race lead to sixth while Larson inherited the race lead off pit road.

“The pit crew did a great job to get us out as the leader and we controlled the race from there,” Larson said.

Now the leader, the driver of the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 was in complete control. He rocketed away from Hamlin at the start of the final stage and drove away from the field, at times leading by more than six seconds.

Behind the race leader Truex was on a tear, marching back through the field in an effort to regain his lost track position. On lap 307 Truex dispatched Hamlin to take the second position, but he was still well off the pace being set by Larson.

Following a pit stop cycle around lap 320, Larson continued to lead Truex by about six seconds. Soon Larson found himself in lap traffic, which began to allow Truex to close the gap on him.

By lap 360 Truex had cut nearly four seconds off Larson’s lead, but once Larson pulled clear of the traffic he stretched his lead back out to more than four seconds. In the final laps Truex closed back in on Larson, but he ran out of time as Larson got to the checkered flag 1.5 seconds ahead of Truex.

The victory, Larson’s first since a win at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in 2017, means he no longer has to stress over competing at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway next weekend since he is already locked into the next round of the playoffs.

“Everybody in this playoff field is going to be stressing next week at Talladega accept for me,” Larson said. “That’s good. Last time I was at Talladega I was on my lid. I may still end up on my lid next week, but it’s not going to matter.

“What a day. This Clover Chevy was really good. After the first stage I kind of changed my driving style up and I felt like I made the car better at the same time. It really, really benefited our long run. That’s as good as I’ve ever been cutting the bottom around here.”

Truex was forced to settle for second after the pit stop issue between the second and third stages, but noted he was happy with his run given how difficult it was to pass.

“We got the lead there in stage two and got that stage win, then had a pit stop issue and lost track position and the whole third stage we were behind,” Truex said. “We were catching him there at the end. We got close.

“Yeah, just unfortunate there. We win and lose as a team. The guys will clean it up I’m sure. It’s cool to come home second after that as hard as it was to pass today.”

Alex Bowman finished a strong third after finishing second at Dover in the spring. Kevin Harvick was fourth, followed by Hamlin in fifth.

Kyle Busch was sixth, giving playoff drivers a sweep of the first six positions. Matt DiBenedetto, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and playoff driver Clint Bowyer completed the top-10.

For complete results, advance to the next page.

DOVER, Del. – The Monster Mile took a serious bite out of several Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers on Sunday afternoon.

The first victim of Dover Int’l Speedway was reigning series champion Joey Logano, who saw his shot at winning erased before he even took the green flag at the one-mile concrete oval.

During the pace laps Logano reported to his crew that there was something wrong with the rear of the car. After hitting pit road during the pace laps, his crew sent him to the garage so they could fix the car.

He returned to the race more than 20 laps down and out of contention, resulting in a 34th-place finish.

“Something back there wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do, so we had to fix that and we were 20-something laps down from there,” Logano said. “You can’t make up 20 laps, that is for sure. Maybe you can get one or two back if things go right. It was a bummer. Things happen. I guess the good news is that I think we are the last one in right now. We definitely used our mulligan. We used the playoff points we accumulated, we just have to be perfect now.”

Despite being well out of contention to win the race, Logano still raced hard. At one point during the second stage Logano found himself racing ahead of race leaders Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson.

That didn’t make Logano very popular among his fellow playoff drivers, but he said he was in a race of his own and he couldn’t worry about what was happening behind him.

“Well, the situation was that I had about four or five cars that it was possible for me to catch, which is five points. You tell me if it is worth it,” Logano said. “I would say it is worth it and I have to go. I have to try to get those spots if I can get them. If some of those cars that were that slow out there and we’re going to be 20-something laps down, the pace we were running we were going to be within a lap or two of them. I had to race hard. I had to keep going.”

Logano will now head to Talladega Superspeedway tied with William Byron for the final spot in the third round of the playoffs. Luckily for Logano, he’s won three times at the 2.66-mile oval.

“We have two really good race tracks coming up though. Talladega is arguably one of our best race tracks and I would say Kansas is as well. We just have to be perfect from here,” Logano said.

Not long after Logano’s issue, Chase Elliott was also taken out of contention when the engine in his No. 9 Chevrolet expired unexpectedly. Elliott finished last in the 38-car field, which dropped him to 11th in the playoff standings.

“I just had an engine failure of some sort,” Elliott said. “Unfortunately, we don’t really know what it was just yet. It just quit running. It didn’t really seem like anything was off. We were just kind of making laps and then obviously had a failure. It’s an unfortunate way to start this round for sure.”

Now on the outside of the playoff bubble, Elliott believes he’ll have to win if he hopes to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

“I don’t know where we’ll stack up,” Elliott admitted. “I assume we’ll have to win one of these next few weeks. If you ever make it to Homestead, you’re going to have to win down there. I guess it’s a good opportunity to practice here these next few weeks.”

Logano’s Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney also had a rough day, failing to finish after a reporting no brakes late in the race. He finished 35th and is now last in the 12-driver playoff field as the series heads to Talladega Superspeedway next weekend.

LAS VEGAS – Phil Mickelson didn’t factor in the finish at the Shriners but will nonetheless leave Las Vegas mildly encouraged.

Mickelson closed Sunday with a 4-under par 67, which is about even par this week at TPC Summerlin.

Phil entered the weekend just three off the 36-hole pace but tumbled down the leaderboard Saturday with a third-round 74 on a day when the scoring average was 67.75.

Asked to sum up his play, Mickelson said: “I came out and had two good rounds out of four. I didn't obviously compete, but the road back to playing well is a process, and today or this week was a good start on that process, and I'm looking forward to going to Korea and continuing improving. I identified a few areas to continue to work on, but there were some areas of strength as well.

“It was a good week, and I’ll look to build on it.”

Mickelson will next compete at the CJ Cup in South Korea and said earlier this week he was likely to add the WGC-HSBC Champions in China to his schedule.

As for when to expect this next Phireside chat?

“I'm sure I'll have one out next week,” he said. “I have a bunch of stuff in my phone. I just don't know what I'm going to put up yet.”

LAS VEGAS – The next time you see Bryson DeChambeau, you might not recognize him.

“I'm going to come back next year and look like a different person,” he said Sunday.

The defending champion at the Shriners ended a “weird week” with a final-round 63 during which everything finally came together.

DeChambeau was in second place behind only Kevin Na when he walked off the golf course and realized he was just one back when Na tripled the par-4 10^th as DeChambeau was still signing autographs.

Still, a successful title defense wasn’t meant to be, and DeChambeau will now turn his attention to an offseason exercise regimen that he anticipates will change his body in big ways.

“Bigger. Way stronger. Not necessarily bigger, but just stronger in general,” he said. “I am going to look probably a lot bigger, but it's going to be a fun month and a half off. I have never been able to do this, and I'm going to go do things that are going to be a lot of fun.”

“This” will be work with Greg Roskopf, who DeChambeau has collaborated with in the past to study his own brain waves. Their goal is to “make sure the neurological threshold is just as high as the mechanical threshold,” which in layman’s terms is about maximizing muscle potential and the body’s range of motion.

DeChambeau will be working out with special equipment at home and traveling to Denver on occasion for in-person sessions with Roskopf. He says he’ll start training his core and then work his way out to the extremities.

“You're going to see some pretty big changes in my body, which is going to be a good thing. I’m going to be hitting it a lot farther,” he said.

Dairon Asprilla scored the go-ahead goal in the 59th minute as the host Portland Timbers clinched a postseason berth with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.

Defender Larrys Mabiala tallied in the 29th minute and Sebastian Blanco converted a free kick in the 75th for the sixth-place Timbers (14-13-7, 49 points), who will visit third-place Real Salt Lake in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Steve Clark made three saves to help Portland snap a five-game winless skid (0-2-3).

Captain Chris Wondolowski scored in the 39th minute and Daniel Vega turned aside five shots for the Earthquakes (13-16-5, 44 points), who saw their season-high losing streak extend to six matches. They were eliminated from postseason contention after FC Dallas (13-12-9, 48 points) breezed to a 6-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.

Asprilla snapped a tie in impressive fashion, beating defender Florian Jungwirth to the inside before unleashing a shot that was denied by Vega. The 27-year-old Asprilla cleaned up his own rebound and tapped the ball into the open net to give Portland a 2-1 lead with his second goal in as many matches.

Blanco gave the Timbers a bit of breathing room in the 75th as his shot sailed over the makeshift wall and past a diving Vega. The goal was Blanco's sixth of the season.

Portland opened the scoring as Jorge Villafana's cross found Mabiala, who contorted his body to send an off-balance left-footed shot from the center of the box inside the left post. The 31-year-old Frenchman's goal was his second of the campaign.

Wondolowski, who was nearly responsible for an own goal earlier in the match, forged a tie in the 39th minute after extending his body while inside the box to head home Cristian Espinoza's cross. The goal was the 36-year-old Wondolowski's team-leading 15th this season and 11th versus Portland in his distinguished MLS career.

Wondolowski nearly opened the scoring in inadvertent fashion in the 26th minute, as Espinoza's shot caromed off his body, requiring Vega to make a diving save.

LAFC's Carlos Vela scored a hat trick to smash the Major League Soccer single-season goals record of 31 on Sunday in a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids.at Banc of California Stadium.

The sensational Decision Day outing for Vela puts him on 34 goals for the season, meaning he is also the Golden Boot winner in 2019.

Vela scored from a trademark left-footed strike for his 32nd goal of the season to move ahead of Martinez, who only broke the record held by Roy Lassiter, Chris Wondolowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips during the 2018 season.

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The goal gave LAFC the lead over the Rapids and took the team a step closer in its quest to break the New York Red Bulls' record for the highest single-season point total in league history.

Vela then added his 33rd goal of the season with a spectacular overhead volley from just in front of the goal to make the score 2-0, before adding his third goal with a close-range finish on a counter-attack to secure his hat trick and extend LAFC's lead.

The win also sees LAFC break the record for points in a single MLS season, with the team's 72-point haul breaking the previous mark of 71 held by the New York Red Bulls.

LA Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in his team's 4-2 loss to the Houston Dynamo to finish second in the Golden Boot race on 30 goals, while Martinez scored his 27th goal for Atlanta to finish third.

LAFC begins its 2019 MLS Cup playoff campaign in the conference semifinal round courtesy of a first-round bye for finishing with the highest points haul in the West.

NEWCASTLE, England -- It is a thought most Manchester United fans would never imagine, especially during the trophy-laden glory years of Sir Alex Ferguson, but after losing 1-0 to Matthew Longstaff's goal at Newcastle United on Sunday, the nightmare scenario of a relegation battle cannot be ruled out.

While Liverpool have surged eight points clear of champions Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with eight wins from eight games, United are languishing in 12th position, just two points above the bottom three after their third league defeat. They have won only twice and scored just nine times; four of those goals came in one game on the opening weekend against Chelsea.

If this was any other club, alarm bells would be ringing ahead of a long struggle for survival. And with barely a quarter of the campaign gone, it would be foolish to suggest that United will find themselves locked in a battle against the drop between now and next May.

When you consider both the short- and long-term form slide suffered by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team, though, there are few positives. Since a remarkable 3-1 Champions League victory against Paris Saint Germain in March, United have not won a single away game in any competition.

And since that famous victory at Parc des Princes, United have the third-worst record among teams that played in the Premier League this season and last. They have taken just 17 points from 17 games since, and now, in the first week of October, succumbed to a Newcastle team that began the game in 19th, with just five points and who were beaten 5-0 at Leicester last Sunday.

To place Solskjaer's woeful run into context, his predecessor Jose Mourinho was sacked last December after collecting 26 points from 17 games.

The word from within Old Trafford is that the Glazer family are determined to stand by their manager as he attempts to rebuild the club's squad. United's owners, who bore the brunt of hostile chants from supporters at St James' Park, persisted with David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Mourinho long after it became clear those managers had lost the plot, so Solskjkaer may be safe for a while yet.

But one point per game from the equivalent of half a season is relegation form, plain and simple. Clearly, United are one of the richest clubs in the world and so possess the financial muscle to make changes in January when the transfer window reopens.

Where will this team be by that stage? Liverpool visit Old Trafford next, with a difficult trip to Norwich immediately afterward for Solskjaer and Co. If United lose at Carrow Road, it will be impossible to find reason to argue against a battle for survival.

It could be argued that one big reason for the current woes is Solskjaer's failure to sign a replacement for Romelu Lukaku or Alexis Sanchez, both of whom were shipped off to Inter during the summer transfer window. Moreover, at Newcastle, the starting XI was shorn of first-team regulars such as Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba due to injury.

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When those players are fit and available, United will be much stronger. But if their squad is so shallow that it cannot cope with the loss of five players -- none of whom could be classed as a world-class game-changer -- then it does not bode well for a long season that also involves the distraction of Thursday football in the Europa League.

Of those who have been available, Marcus Rashford has become a non-scoring striker, Juan Mata is no longer capable of making an impact at this level and Brazil international Fred is repeatedly anonymous in midfield.

As manager, Solskjaer must find a way to make his squad perform better and come up with a tactical plan that creates and converts chances in front of goal. If he survives in the job, he also needs to inject some fight into a team that is too timid and lacking the ability to respond to setbacks.

Despite this latest setback, Solskjaer insisted that his players possess the right spirit.

"We have started a rebuild, so this is not a similar situation to Everton (last season, lost 4-0), where I felt some had given up," he said. "These boys haven't given up. They have given everything for the shirt.

"But it's where we are at the moment. We don't create enough chances to deserve to win a game of football. I couldn't see that (performance) coming before the game. Ball seemed like a hot potato; it was bouncing off our feet."

With two whole weeks until his side's next game, United's manager pledged to examine what has gone wrong, before Liverpool come to town.

"Luckily for us it's now the international break," Solskjaer said. "We get time to evaluate what's gone on over these eight games. But it's my responsibility. I need to sort their heads out. Young boys lacking confidence; they need some help from experienced players and staff."

Solskjaer also looks like he needs help, but will he get it and will it come in time? The reality of Manchester United is that there are more questions than answers.