As the Premier League is about winding up with two games left, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said there is a need for his players to smile as the fight for the top four continues.
Leicester City, who is occupying the final Champions League qualifying spot recorded a 2-0 win over Sheffield United on Thursday at the King Power Stadium through goals from Ayoze Perez and Demarai Gray in either of the halves.
The Red Devils, knowing fully well that a win will still put them in contention for the top four, had to do the needful against Crystal Palace later in the day and they came out victorious at the Selhurst Park.
The Reds continue the quest after seeing off Crystal Palace 2-0. Marcus Rashford scored the opener with a beautiful effort after Portuguese midfielder, Bruno Fernandez unlocked the Eagles’ defence with a pass into the English man’s feet, sending the keeper and Palace defender one way with a dummied shot to record his 22nd of the season.
United doubled their effort later in the second half through Anthony Martial with a pass from Rashford. The Frenchman struck the ball with his right to record his 22nd of the season as well.
Solskjaer wants United players to enjoy their game
Reacting to the victory after the match, Solskjaer said, with midweek wins coming for Chelsea and Leicester City as well, his players need to think about how far they’ve come in recent months and enjoy their football when they step out on to the pitch.
Showering praises on Martial, Rashford, and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who recently returned to the team, the Norwegian in his post-match interviews with MUTV and BT Sport said his lads have done a fantastic job since January.
“Yeah we need to smile, we need to go into this as in ‘we’ve earned this right’. No one thought this in January, that we were in with a shout for the top four and we’ve done fantastic since the restart and so we’ve got to smile, got to enjoy these games. These are the games that matter and that’s what it is at Man United, you need to step up and show your personality.”
He also lauded the hosts for making the game hard for his team with two VAR decisions going against them.
“Yeah, you don’t expect anything else from a team that’s so well-coached and organized with individual quality, and also they can play freely. The game for them is a chance for them to play against Man United, prove themselves and they made it hard for us. But in moments, in periods, we played some fantastic football as well. We defended bravely, we had to. David De Gea, I think, has proven again why he’s in between the posts.”
