Man Utd boss Solskjaer praises two players after Granada win despite ‘not perfect night’
Man Utd: Solskjaer sweats on Rashford fitness for Granada tie
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Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has spoken out after his side’s 2-0 Europa League win over Granada on Thursday night. The Red Devils went into the game looking to take control of their quarter-final tie. They did that through Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes – but have now seen Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay ruled out of the next game through suspension.
Manchester United took the lead through Rashford in the 31st minute, with the England international scoring after a pinpoint pass from Victor Lindelof.
And Fernandes notched from the penalty spot following an altercation in the area.
There was a blow to United on the night, however, with McTominay, Shaw and Maguire all now ruled out of the next leg.
All three players have been vital for the Red Devils under Solskjaer, perhaps three of his top five undroppables within the squad.
And Solskjaer, speaking after the game, praised Rashford and Fernandes for their goals – while acknowledging it ‘wasn’t a perfect night’.
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“We got three yellow cards and three suspensions. 2-0 is very good result. We know how difficult it is to come to Spain. We’ve got to play well to get a result,” he said.
“They [Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes] have been exceptional, so important for us. It was a very good run by Rashford, takes the ball fantastically.
“Bruno is so confident on penalties even though the keeper almost saved it.
“Same as always [attitude for next week]. We want to win every game.
“It’s still a young team, a learning team. We have to improve all the time. Football catches you so quickly if you rest. We can’t have any other approach.”
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Daniel James added: “It’s a massive win for us.
“We knew it’d be tough coming here. Getting a clean sheet was important.
“There’s still a second leg we’ve got to concentrate on but we have to recover and get ready for Sunday [at Tottenham].
“We knew it would be a tough game physically and we had to match that. We fought to the end and got that penalty.
“Keep smiling, keep playing. I’m really happy. We have to go into next week with the same attitude. Sunday is a massive game for us. We’ve got to get back, recover, get ready for that.”
Meanwhile, speaking before the game, Paul Scholes warned United about becoming too dependant on certain individuals within the squad.
“I look at Manchester United and I don’t think they are a great football team. But they’ve got individuals that win you games of football,” he told Jake Humphrey and Owen Hargreaves in the BT Sport studio.
“When you look at the top end of the pitch – you look at [Marcus] Rashford, look at [Anthony] Martial, I know Martial is injured of course.
“I think we had everything.
“We were a great team, probably didn’t have many stand-out individuals – we had Cristiano Ronaldo of course and Ryan Giggs – but we played as a team as well.
“We were a great team, probably didn’t have many stand-out individuals – we had Cristiano Ronaldo of course and Ryan Giggs – but we played as a team as well.
“I don’t think this team is quite knitted as a team, I still think they rely heavily on [Bruno] Fernandes…which you should do when you pay £67million for him, you expect him to score goals.
“They’ve got Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood – I don’t think he’s scored enough goals, I don’t think he’s played consistently enough to get them goals, but I think he will do.”
United are next in action against Tottenham on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho’s side will enter that match hoping for a repeat of the 6-1 scoreline that took place earlier in the season.
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