LONDON • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may yet rue being unable to beef up his defence, should Manchester United fail in their bid to make the Premier League's top four.
Today, at Leicester, they will face Harry Maguire, a centre-back Jose Mourinho wanted to sign before the start of this season. The board's refusal to sanction a move deepened divisions and the fallout ended with the manager's December sacking as the team struggled.
Caretaker manager Solskjaer, publicly at least, appears less concerned about the lack of defensive signings but a shortage of quality in that area remains an issue. Leicester's pace in attack may well cause problems and he knows it.
"They've beaten Manchester City and Chelsea over the past couple of months, so it will be a tough game," said the Norwegian. "They are a team full of energy and pace in attack, with Jamie Vardy, Demarai Gray and James Maddison.
"And they defend well when they drop back. It's hard to break them down. It will be a challenge."
Last Tuesday, in the 2-2 home league draw with Burnley, their defensive problems were exposed and they needed a late fightback.
Mourinho was again proven right about his assessment that his four senior centre-backs, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof, were not up to standard. They have kept just four clean sheets in 24 league matches.
Solskjaer preferred Jones and Lindelof as his central pairing, with Bailly as a stand-in.
The 45-year-old has proven in the past that he can solve defensive issues given time.
In his two spells as manager of Norwegian club Molde, their goals-against record improved after his first season, helped by wise investment in the transfer market.
But despite becoming the first Red Devils boss to start with eight wins, six in the league and two in the FA Cup, he may not be kept on beyond this season.
One man who should be around is Anthony Martial, who has just signed a deal that commits him to the club until at least June 2024, with the option for a further year.
Solskjaer has challenged him to follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo. He said: "You can't just rely on what you do now.
"I speak about my experience at this club with Cristiano and what Anthony can achieve. I talk about Cristiano's career, what he's made, how he's got there."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
LEICESTER V MAN UNITED
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, 10.05pm
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 16, 2019, with the headline 'City will pounce if Liverpool slip up: Guardiola'. Print Edition | Subscribe
City will pounce if Liverpool slip up: Guardiola
Lost in Space is an American science fiction family franchise centered around a television series filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, broadcast on CBS and created and produced by Irwin Allen, who referred to it as "science-fact science fiction".
See All The Satellites And Space Junk Circling Earth In Real
Soccer Football - World Cup - Round of 16 - Uruguay vs Portugal - Fisht Stadium, Sochi, Russia - June 30, 2018 Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo looks dejected after the match REUTERS/Jorge Silva Portugal fail to show they are more than just Ronaldo
Fans react to Bernardo Silva setting up Cristiano Ronaldo
Jurgen Klopp has warned Liverpool's Premier League rivals that the leaders are laying the foundations for long-term success. Klopp's side sit four points clear at the top as they chase Liverpool
Liverpool laying groundwork for sustained success, says Klopp
Dijon's French midfielder Florent Balmont vies with Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish defender Juan Bernat during the French L1 football match. (JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP) Marquinhos, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored PSG's goals in their first outing since their disastrous exit from the Champions League in the last
PSG win in first outing since Champions League nightmare
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Eden Hazard marked his 100th cap with an early goal to set Belgium on their way to a comfortable 2-0 away win over Cyprus in their Euro 2020 qualifier on Sunday. Michy
Eden Hazard marks milestone with early goal to help Belgium
-The court found that the use of a confusing mark in a movie would consume consumer and injures the plaintiffs business reputation Licensing A right granted by an owner, known as the licensor, to a third party, the licensee, which permits the licensee to associate his or her goods, services, or business with the logos, names, and mascots of the
Adidas - Wikipedia
Result against Bayern Munich won't affect Premier League bid: Jurgen Klopp Liverpool are second in the standings with 73 points, one point behind defending champions Manchester City with eight matches remaining this season.
Liverpool result at Bayern Munich won't affect Premier League
The Socceroos continue their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019™ campaign with a pivotal clash against Palestine on Friday night (AEDT) in Dubai. After the opening game loss against Jordan, Graham Arnold's men will be desperate to bounce back with an improved showing against Palestinians. With one game now
Football: Stylish Liverpool thrash Watford 5-0 to stay top of league Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and team mates celebrate after the match. PHOTO: REUTERS
Stylish Liverpool thrash Watford to stay top - Reuters
Jun 02, 2019 · Brazilian football star Neymar accused of raping woman in Paris hotel according to a police document in Brazil. "All evidence of attempted extortion and non-rape will be submitted to the
0 comments:
Post a Comment