FAST LEARNERS
SOLSKJAER CLAIMS FIGHTBACK SHOWS HOW FAR YOUNG REDS HAVE COME
MANCHESTER United came from 2-0 down to claim a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Sheffield United with a display Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said showed how much they have progressed during his 11 months in charge.
The visitors were utterly outplayed in the first half at Bramall Lane – not what Solskjaer needed with the highly rated Mauricio Pochettino suddenly available.
But the Red Devils roared back, led by goals from teenage prospects Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood, before Marcus Rashford and Oli McBurnie (below) swapped late strikes to leave Solskjaer insisting the club have made strides on his watch.
‘The difference between this year’s team and last year’s team is huge,’ said the United manager.
‘I go back to Everton last season (when United lost 4-0). These boys never give in – last year we would have been three, four, five down. You don’t expect them to give up but last year we did. Today we didn’t.
‘Even though the big part of this game is a negative and we are disappointed with it, the overriding feeling is a positive because of the characteraracter to stick in there and turn it around.’
Solskjaer was denied a sixth win in the last seven games by McBurnie’s nie’s last-minute equaliser but he feels he and his players can n take positives from what had been a dire situation.
He added: ‘I don’t doubt them wanting to win, sometimes young players don’t really know how to win challenges like this.
‘They’ve come through the academy, most of these boys, s, and in the academy you don’t n’t play in these kind of games, mes, despite trying to teach them too play without fear. They’ll have learntnt a lot.’
SUBSTITUTE Oli McBurnie secured Sheffield United a deserved share of the spoils as a helter-skelter clash with Manchester United at Bramall Lane ended in a six-goal draw.
Chris Wilder’s promoted side have been so impressive this season and headed into this encounter ahead of the 20-time champions in the table.
Organised and creative, the Blades were on course for their first win against the Red Devils since 1993 thanks to John Fleck’s bundled effort and a fine Lys Mousset strike.
The visitors were out-thought and out-fought for long periods.
But, with the shadow of the newly out-of-work Mauricio Pochettino looming large over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, his side embarked on the most unlikely of seven-minute scoring sprees. Nineteen-year-old Brandon Williams’ first senior goal in the 72nd minute was the catalyst, with 18-year-old Mason Greenwood netting his first Premier League goal before Marcus Rashford gleefully swept United ahead.
But McBurnie left the bench to secure a draw in the 90th minute as a crazy game came to a fitting conclusion.
He insisted his stoppage-time effort was never in doubt – despite a lengthy
VAR check after the ball brushed his shoulder. The striker said: ‘I knew it hadn’t (hit my arm).
‘I told the boys it was never in doubt. I was worried, we’ve had a couple of VARs go against us so it would have been just our luck.’
Wilder added: ‘We won it, lost it, got a result out of it. Full credit to Manchester United to get themselves back in the lead, but credit to Sheffield United for getting something out of it.’