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
Klopp denies Liverpool's lighter schedule is title advantage
United Bank in Atmore, Alabama is a full service community bank offering personal and business accounts, loans, and trust/investment services. United Bank has served southeast Alabama and northwest Florida since 1904.
Personal & Business Bank in CT & MA | United Bank
ST Young Star Award: Queensway Secondary's history-maker
Wood double gives Burnley win over Cardiff in relegation scrap
Mauricio Pochettino and Danny Rose. Those comments will leave Pochettino with a difficult decision to make over the England international who on several occasions this season has proven why he's one of the very best in his position. Read More. Marcus Edwards, Onomah, Carter-Vickers - What next for the 8 Spurs players who went out on loan
Raheem Sterling honoured with award for fighting racism Manchester City's England forward Raheem Sterling has been awarded The Integrity and Impact Award at this year's BT Sport Industry Awards for speaking out on a range of social issues, including racism.
England's Sterling honoured with award for fighting racism
Football: Gunners have 'hell of a lot of work to do
Signs of Manchester United revival in loss to City: Wes Brown But former United defender Wes Brown saw a glimmer of hope, one that could spark a reversal of fortunes and hopefully propel the
Dua Signs Of Manchester United Revival In Loss To City: Wes Brown
gedco.net/dua/Signs-of-Manchester-United-revival-in-loss-to-City:-Wes-Brown/
Source: Manchester Evening News Signs Of Manchester United Revival In Loss To City: Wes Brown. Read Signs Of Manchester United Revival In Loss To City: Wes Brown by Manchester Evening News
Football: Guardiola hails 'legend' Aguero as Man City inch
Jahanbakhsh on target as Iran ease past Oman into last eight before marching confidently into the Asian Cup quarter-finals for the 13th time in 14 attempts with a 2-0 victory over a spirited
Jahanbakhsh on target as Iran ease past Oman into last eight
Juventus Win Eighth Consecutive Serie A Title. celebrates with teammates after Fiorentina scored an own goal following his shot during the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Fiorentina
Juventus crowned Serie A champions as Cristiano Ronaldo makes
Login Sign up; V-Varen Nagasaki v Niigata "liveStream"(live) From: Aarhus vs Brentford 2 LIVE Stream# by sucacmoweb1973. 0 1 17 days ago. 00:00. 00:05. Like Like.
Warriors - Hougang United LiveStream: - spreaker.com
Declan Rice's first West Ham goal secured a 1-0 win over Arsenal in a capital city derby clash at the London Stadium. The victory in Saturday's early kick-off saw the Hammers move up to eighth
Football: Rice scores first Hammers goal to defeat Arsenal
extratout.com/2019/01/12/football-rice-scores-first-hammers-goal-to-defeat-arsenal/
LONDON (AFP) - Declan Rice's first West Ham goal secured a 1-0 win over Arsenal in a capital city derby clash at the London Stadium.The victory in Saturday's (Jan 12) early kick-off saw the Hammers move up to eighth in the Premier League table, on 31
Rice scores first Hammers goal to defeat Arsenal
LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The search for Cardiff City's new soccer star, Emiliano Sala, resumed on Wednesday 36 hours after the light aircraft he was flying on disappeared in the English Channel
Football: Search for missing Cardiff City's Emiliano Sala
Boyle was a key for Socceroos : Arnold . Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has revealed he viewed injured winger Martin Boyle as a key part of his Asian Cup title defence. Three tactical questions for Graham Arnold ahead of Socceroos opener The Socceroos begin their Asian Cup defence against Jordan on Sunday night at 10pm.
Speed key for Socceroos to catch Chile on the hop, writes
Spanish media call for Valverde axe, Football News & Top
0 comments:
Post a Comment