LONDON • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wasted no time after his ninth victory in 10 games to fly to Lyon to watch Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue One match in preparation for Manchester United's last-16 first-leg tie with the French champions next Tuesday.
After overcoming another tricky hurdle last Sunday to emerge with a 1-0 win at Leicester, Premier League games against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City loom, as well as the European challenge.
Although Solskjaer, who is on loan from Molde, had previously said he would return to them in May, he has since revealed that the Norwegian club's co-owners have wished him "good luck" and told him not to return.
The United caretaker manager, who took charge in December for the rest of the season, is certainly presenting a compelling case to be given the job full-time.
While United were not at their flowing best at the King Power Stadium, Solskjaer saluted his players for showing that they could win without playing well.
The Red Devils bounced back from a 2-2 draw with Burnley last Tuesday to leapfrog Arsenal into fifth place in the league.
He told reporters: "Our lads sacrificed everything they had. They know they can do better than this, but a clean sheet is always a foundation to build on.
English Premier League talking points
1 SEAGULLS NEED TO UNCLIP WINGS
Chris Hughton may not be looking over his shoulder just yet but a fifth consecutive game without a Premier League win has seen his Brighton side drop perilously close to the relegation dogfight.
Cardiff's victory means the Seagulls are only five points clear of trouble and having picked up only six points from their last 10 league games, the manager will be eager to stop the slide.
While they will have an immediate opportunity to do that on Saturday against Burnley, Hughton will be wary of their opponents given that the Clarets are also fighting for their lives.
2 TOFFEES' SEASON TURNING SOUR
Wolves gave Everton a beating and many reasons for envy on Saturday. Nuno Espirito Santo's men were organised, committed and dangerous - everything Marco Silva's side were not as they slipped to their sixth defeat in nine league games.
In Conor Coady, they possessed a defensive strength and discipline that was in stark contrast to the performance of Michael Keane, while in Joao Moutinho, they had the purpose and invention the home midfield failed to deliver.
But it was in attack where Everton were totally eclipsed by the quality of Raul Jimenez, whose work rate and contribution put the efforts of all of Silva's offensive players - Theo Walcott, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Richarlison and Cenk Tosun - to shame.
3 COTTAGERS AWAIT 'DILLY-DING, DILLY-DONG'
While winning the league with Leicester meant Claudio Ranieri arrived at Craven Cottage with a reputation as a miracle worker, Fulham have seen little evidence of the Italian's supposed magical powers since appointing him in November.
The side with the worst defensive record in the league are just as bad as they were under Slavisa Jokanovic.
Second-last Fulham, the only team without an away win, looked like they were waiting to be relegated during their loss to Crystal Palace and successive home games against Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are unlikely to lift the mood.
THE GUARDIAN
"We could've done better higher up the pitch in terms of defending but we deserved the three points.
"We never strung passes together, we didn't control the game, but we're away with three points.
"Second half, I thought we were more concerned about the result than the performance and it showed."
Highlighting the growing influence and combination of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford - who has now netted six in his last eight league games compared to just three before Jose Mourinho was sacked last December - he said: "Marcus has played a lot of games and he got a dead leg earlier on, but he struggled through it.
"Good players make each other better and I can only explain goals like this with quality."
Pundits have also noticed the 21-year-old Rashford's transformation - not only has his conversion rate in the league improved, but so has his volume of shots at goal from less than two per game to close to five under Solskjaer.
Former England striker Gary Lineker tweeted post-game: "Mature beyond his years. He's always struck me as totally confident and calm in his finishing."
While Alexis Sanchez played a part in Rashford's winner, he was otherwise pretty anonymous. But Solskjaer defended the Chile forward, who struggled to make inroads into the Foxes' defence.
The 45-year-old added: "He's played well today, but we just had to change the dynamics of the game a bit and (substitute) Anthony Martial has got fresh legs so I don't think there's any problem with his confidence, I thought he did well."
Still, even with an off-key Sanchez, Solskjaer and assistant Mike Phelan will be confident their attack can pose a serious threat to PSG's defence after they watched Thomas Tuchel's men fall to a 2-1 loss at Lyon, their first league loss of the term.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE TIMES, LONDON
Mohamed Salah scored a brilliant solo goal as Liverpool came from behind to beat Southampton at St Mary's and return to the top of the Premier League. Liverpool were in danger of dropping vital
Liverpool beat Southampton 3-1 to return to top of Premier
Juventus manger Massimiliano Allegri has claimed he is 'confident' Cristiano Ronaldo will be fit to take on Ajax this week.. The attacker sat out Juve's 2-1 victory against AC Milan on
Juventus' Ronaldo a doubt to face Ajax in Champions League
global.espn.com/football/juventus/story/3810925/juventus-ronaldo-a-doubt-to-face-ajax-in-champions-league-allegri
Cristiano Ronaldo is a doubt for the Champions League quarterfinal against Ajax after being left out of the Juventus squad to face Empoli on Saturday with a muscular injury. Ronaldo pulled up with an injury half an hour into Portugal's 1-1 draw with Serbia on Monday and will miss his third Serie A game in a row after being rested for the 4-1
Cristiano Ronaldo Doubtful For Ajax Clash, Says Coach
Manchester United not 'satisfied' despite winning run, says
Neymar hints at joining Real Madrid. On March 3, "He's going to become one of the best players in the history of football and I'm trying to help him as best as possible. We have the same
Neymar hints at joining Real Madrid - sports.yahoo.com
'The first choice is the gentleman by my side': Benfica appoint interim coach Bruno Lage after Jose Mourinho ruled himself out of the job. The 42-year-old was initially appointed as a stop-gap
Football: Jose Mourinho says he lacked help in Manchester
Cristiano Ronaldo faces disciplinary hearing over goal
La Liga: Gareth Bale 'nowhere near' being Real Madrid's leader, says Predrag Mijatovic Description: Gareth Bale, who has scored only four goals in the league this season, has been injured over 20 times since his 105 million euro signing from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013.
Bale "nowhere near" being Madrid's leader, says Mijatovic
Spurs must drop Lloris for top 4, says Jenas, Football News
Solskjaer warns Man Utd players over complacency and will look to keep that sequence going at Old Trafford on Saturday. "I want players to be confident but
Solskjaer warns Man Utd players over complacency - pulse.ng
Juventus moved a step closer to a second successive Serie A title after winning 2-1 in a pulsating "derby of Italy" at Inter Milan on Saturday, while Edinson Cavani came off the bench to inspire
Alexandre Lacazette was sent off as Arsenal suffered a shock Europa League defeat to BATE Borisov in the first leg of their last-32 tie, with Stanislav Dragun's header separating the sides.
BATE Borisov 1-0 Arsenal REPORT: Lacazette sent off after
0 comments:
Post a Comment