Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not satisfied with the training facilities available for United in their base at Cologne, Germany, where the remaining rounds of the Europa League are ongoing.
Recall that the 2019-2020 European League was put on hold in March due to the outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus pandemic. The remaining fixtures of the last-16 were played in the first week of August 2020, using the regular home and away format. After the completion of the round, all the 8 clubs that qualified for other rounds of the competition were moved to Cologne, Germany for the completion of the tournament.
Besides the fact that all the clubs in the tournament would not play their European League matches in their home stadiums as they are all hosted in Cologne, Germany, all the matches from the quarter-final round to the semi-final would not be played using the 2-legged format. Every of the round would be decided by a one-legged format.
In line with the new arrangement, Manchester United played their quarter-final match on Monday, August 10, in Cologne against FC Copenhagen. They won the match 1-0 to seal a place in the semi-final against either Wolves or Sevilla on August 16, 2020.
Until then, Manchester United would have to remain in Cologne until Sunday which is 5 days from the day of publishing this report. This means that the Premier League club would have to train within the biosecure bubble facility UEFA has provided for all the teams that are still in the competition. Such a facility is designed to protect the players from the coronavirus pandemic that is still ravishing the world.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prefers Carrington to Cologne
However, if the manager of Manchester United should have is way, he would prefer to return his team to their Carrington training facility in Manchester, England. He would prefer to travel to Germany between matches until the end of the competition, a wish that UEFA would not grant for any of the participating teams.
“The facilities are not the same as we’re used to but that is no excuse,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said. “Every team has the same conditions. We’re used to having the best facilities around the world for recovery and preparation, we just have to make the most out of a difficult situation in conditions that are hot and humid.
“We’ve got six days to prepare for a game. There are not many times we have that.”
🇩🇪 We're not finished in Germany just yet…
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 10, 2020
On to the #UEL semi-finals 👊#MUFC @Chevrolet
As it stands, Manchester United and other teams that are still in the competition are expected to remain in Cologne, Germany until August 21 when the final would be played. However, once a team has been knocked out of the competition, such a team is expected to return to its home base.
