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Ole Gunnar Solskjær is confident Manchester United will not repeat last season’s 4-0 surrender at Everton on Sunday, with the manager admitting the team he selected that day “capitulated”.
United are in confident mood after Thursday’s 5-0 victory over Club Brugge took them into Friday’s Europa League last-16 draw 6-1 on aggregate. This was a seventh consecutive match unbeaten, including six clean sheets.
It is their best run for more than a year, whereas April’s reverse at Everton was the nadir for the manager. “That was the lowest I’ve been,” Solskjær said. “That was a capitulation. We had absolutely nothing about us, even though their goals were more or less counterattacks from set plays and long throw-ins. Everything you didn’t want to see you saw in that game.
“Everton at home, they’re hard to play against with two up front. They put players in the box and we knew what we were up against. I’m 100% sure we’ll put a better performance up. I can with hand on heart 100% say these boys will never give in and never give up like that team did. These are the boys we want to build the next team around … I knew probably before then [our culture had to change] but we had to get to the summer first.”
United impressed against Brugge via a quick mode that Solskjær agreed is the blueprint. “That’s Man United as the fans want to see,” he said. “There was loads of movements, combinations, one- or two-touch, runs into the box, attempts. We gave them two opportunities early on but I still think we have to be that type of team.”
Solskjær compared the recent defensive solidity to that of United’s successful rearguard under Alex Ferguson in the early 1990s. “That’s a foundation to build from similar to that given by the [Steve] Bruces and [Gary] Pallisters and [Peter] Schmeichels.”
Solskjaer was asked why it has taken a year to return to the form of the start of his tenure. “We knew when we made the decisions we made in the summer it was going to take time,” he said. “Rome wasn’t built in a day. The culture, the attitude, the fitness, the camaraderie, the team spirit and maybe even the understanding between players have improved. We have missed that box opener that Bruno [Fernandes] is proving to be now. There was one or two pieces missing and we still know we miss one or two to be where we want to be but it’s a work in progress.”
Fernandes was again the standout performer against Brugge, scoring a penalty and creating Scott McTominay’s goal. “When I took him off [on 65 minutes] obviously he didn’t want to come off – that’s one thing,” said Solskjær. “He just loves football. He’s got so much enthusiasm and a smile about him. He wants to be out there, wants to be better. I tried to send him in because it’s cold. ‘No, I want to watch,’ he said. He’s one of these old-school boys – football is everything for him. He’s been a big, big boost for us.”
Anthony Martial’s availability for Sunday is in the balance because of a muscle problem in the knee area that caused him to miss Thursday’s match, though Solskjær pointed to Odion Ighalo, who scored a first United goal against Brugge. “He’s ready for that game,” he said.
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