Published 03:58 IST, November 9th 2019
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praises Greenwood, Martial and Rashford
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, praised Greenwood, Martial, and Rashford after a goal from each of the players earned United in the Round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League
Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, praised Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford after a goal from each of the players against Partizan Belgrade earned the Red Devils a place in the UEFA Europa League knockout stages. However, the place for the first place in Group L is still on with one more match to define the places of Manchester United, Partizan, AZ Alkmaar, and Astana.
Ole impressed with Greenwood, Martial, and Rashford
Mason Green opened the scoring for Manchester United after a spectacular pass from Marcus Rashford in the 21st minute before a deflected shot by Partizan's defender bounced off Greenwood and gave the chance to Anthony Martial to make a solo effort and bag the second goal for his team in the 33rd minute.
A long pass from Juan Mata to left-back Ashley Young and then Young's pass to Marcus Rashford helped the NO. 10 to score the third goal of the match with an unstoppable left-footed shot into the top right corner in the 49th minute and that proved to be enough for the Red Devils to secure their place in the round of 32.
A top-class performance
Solskjaer stated that he was pleased with his team's performance and added that all three goals were top-class. He further added that there should have been more goals but the first one composed the team and helped them play in a mature way. He further added that Mason Greenwood showed great composure as a player and performed very well.
Ole was of the opinion that probably Martial's solo goal was the highlight of the match but he was also very impressed with Rashford's left-footed goal. He also said that Rashford will need to score more goals with his left foot as he would often be in that position.
The manager said that Marcus was in some great positions during the match and made great runs on the passes that he got, missed a few chances as Partizan's goalkeeper saved his shots but the goal that he finally scored will give him a lot of confidence in the upcoming matches.
With United's place cemented in the last 32, Solskjaer stated that a few key players could be rested ahead of their last Group stage match against Astana in Kazakhstan in the UEFA Europa League. He justified his statement by stating that it will be necessary to take such a decision as United has a busy fixture ahead with matches against Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City.
An injury concern for Manchester United
The only negative point from the game was Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire picking up injuries during the game at Old Trafford. As McTominay has proved to be a key part of United's midfield, his ankle injury has concerned the Manchester United boss. Ole stated that Scott's injury did not look too good as he twisted his ankle. Ole hoped that the midfielder would be fit in time to face Brighton but was not sure if the player would be up for selection or not.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 03:58 IST, November 9th 2019