Why can't Man United win away from Old Trafford? Why can't they score? Questions of Solskjaer mounting

DEN HAAG, Netherlands -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said before Manchester United's Europa League tie with AZ Alkmaar that he hoped to be asked "different" questions after the game, but instead they are mounting.

Why can't his team win away from home? Why do they not score goals? Are they good enough to ease the pressure and win at Newcastle on Sunday? Answers on a postcard.

In hindsight, the 0-0 draw against AZ and another uninspiring, insipid performance should have been entirely predictable.

United have not won away from home in any competition since March and have scored just seven goals in their past nine games. Why should it be a surprise, then, that they did not win here in the Netherlands and could not score? They did not even manage a shot on target.

Louis van Gaal, watching from the stands, played as big a part in the game as Alkmaar goalkeeper Marco Bizot.

Solskjaer, though, had a different view.

"It's a good point away from home against difficult opponents on a difficult surface," said the United manager afterward. "They beat Feyenoord 3-0 away from home, we made many changes and I'm very pleased. It should have been a win. I'm fed up of talking about penalties we should have had."

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He is right that Stijn Wuytens can count himself fortunate he was not penalised for clipping substitute Marcus Rashford 10 minutes from time, but there is no getting away from the fact that United did not create enough chances.

With Rashford on the bench, Solskjaer's search for goals led him to pick winger Daniel James at centre-forward with centre-forward Mason Greenwood on the right wing. It was an experiment that lasted just 20 minutes before the pair switched and created United's first chance.

James' cross from the byline found Greenwood, whose shot was blocked by former Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar. Aside from Angel Gomes getting in a tangle at the back post from Diogo Dalot's cross, that was as close as United got during a forgettable first 45 minutes.

Only the linesman's flag ruling out Myron Boadu's header prevented Solskjaer from having to deliver an even more awkward team talk.

While United's players looked short of the confidence required to deal with the hard, uncomfortable plastic pitch at ADO Den Haag Stadium, Alkmaar's 23-year-old Moroccan winger Oussama Idrissi showed what was possible with a bit of self-belief. He tormented Dalot and Fred in the first half, and would have scored but for a good low save from David De Gea to turn a drilled shot from 20 yards around the post. Idrissi's skill and invention only served to highlight that United's players were struggling to muster much of either.

Instead there was fear and frustration. Juan Mata let out a scream at another misplaced pass. De Gea flapped his arms after lofting the ball over the head of 19-year-old Brandon Williams, making his full debut, and out for a throw in.

The second half was more of the same.

De Gea made saves from Owen Wijndal and Idrissi. Williams and Fred survived penalty appeals. Fred passed a simple ball into the advertising boards. Rashford, on as a second-half substitute, blasted a free kick into the stands before his strong penalty claim was turned down. The wait for a shot on target went on. And on. And on.