Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær explains why Marcus Rashford and Victor Lindelof were benched against Fulham on Saturday.
It appears the Norwegian coach has left the rising stars out of United’s starting lineup as a precautionary measure ahead of their round-of-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Is Lindelof becoming the defender Man Utd sorely need? Five things to know…
- Manchester United signed Victor Lindelof from Benfica for a transfer fee of €35 million in 2017.
- United legend Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher have been heavily critical of the defender in the past.
- Lindelof has started more Premier League games than any United defender (20) this season.
- Former teammate and compatriot Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been impressed with his run in the side of late.
- He’s even been compared – with perhaps a tongue in cheek – to Italian legends Nesta and Cannavaro by Garth Crooks.
Lindelof and Rashford have been mainstays on Solskjær’s team sheets since he took over from José Mourinho in December and the Baby Faced Assassin says they’ll be ready for PSG:
“There are a couple of niggles, Rashford got a dead leg against Leicester. We don’t want to risk him,” Solskjaer told MUTV of those selection calls
“At the back, Victor is out, not really a concern, he should be okay for Tuesday.”
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Solskjær will be particularly keen to keep Rashford fit for Tuesday’s clash, as the England international has been firing on all cylinders ever since he arrived at Old Trafford. The 21-year-old forward reached 10 Premier League goals with his finish against Leicester and now has eight in his last 13 games.
Solskjær prepared for their gauntlet of fixtures
Sir Alex Ferguson was renowned for planning for high-profile encounters, sometimes weeks in advance of kick-off, and it appears that his protégé has followed suit ahead of a fiercely competitive run of games.
“I’ve always been that way,” Solskjær said, “That I plan within a certain way. That there’s one or two changes to that team maybe, or to that team. I plan many, many weeks ahead but that is dependent on form, injuries, sickness.
“It might change if we lost that game or won that game and I might make a different decision, because you always leave it until the last day really. I’ve got a bit of a view on how the team will look against Chelsea, Liverpool, PSG but the closer you get to the Fulham game the more focused you are on just that one.”
United face PSG on Tuesday evening at Old Trafford, they travel to Stamford Bridge the following Monday to face Chelsea in the FA Cup 5th Round and then they play league-leaders Liverpool at home on 24 February.
The post Why Solskjær benched Rashford and Lindelof for Fulham v Man Utd appeared first on Squawka News.
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