Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finds himself in a precarious position, with the side dropping points in Saturday’s Premier League game against Everton (1-1) as Anthony Martial’s first-half strike was cancelled out by Andros Townsend’s counter-attacking goal.
Solskjaer surprised everyone by benching Cristiano Ronaldo for this game, and the Portuguese star came in around the hour mark to replace Edinson Cavani. Martial and Mason Greenwood started as the wingers, with the Uruguay international earning his first start of the season, which was also the first time he started in front of a packed Old Trafford.
After the game, the Norwegian said he had no regrets in dropping United’s number 7, who scored a dramatic winner against Villarreal (2-1) in the Champions League, had won United’s PotM award just earlier that morning, for scoring five times since returning after 12 years.
“No. You make decisions throughout a long, long season; you have to manage the players’ workload and the decision for me was the correct one.
Anthony Martial did well, scored a good goal. Edinson [Cavani] needed minutes and could have had a goal. We have to make those decisions at the time,”
Solskjaer said after the game.
This was the first time Manchester United had benched the Portuguese since the final game of the 2006/07 league season, where they lost 1-0 to West Ham at home. Interestingly, that was the only time Hammers won at Old Trafford for 14 years, with the streak breaking just a few days back in the League Cup.
United will face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium after the international break. They have a clutch schedule post that, where they face Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City in the Premier League and Atalanta twice in the Champions League.
