LONDON • Paul Pogba took another swipe at Jose Mourinho on Sunday by thanking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for giving him the attacking freedom to enjoy his football again.
The France midfielder created the only goal of the game for Marcus Rashford with a wonderful pass as Manchester United extended their remarkable run under their interim manager with a 1-0 Premier League away win over Tottenham.
Solskjaer now has six straight wins - the best start of any United manager - and their turnaround since Mourinho's firing has coincided with a series of match-winning displays from Pogba, who has been given a licence to roam "like Frank Lampard".
Declaring after their Spurs victory he was now "always smiling" as "it was a pleasure to play again", he told reporters: "Before the coach arrived, I was in the shadows, on the bench, and I accepted that.
"I am enjoying playing my football now. I like to be more attacking, I had to defend too much before and that is not my best attribute. This is my position. The manager tells me to get into the box and score goals.
"Everything comes when you are free and you have the trust of the manager and the players, so they make it easier for me as well.
"I know (Nemanja) Matic is there. I know we can press high and, when we get the ball, I can shoot, I can pass and that's what we have been doing since the new manager came in. I have security behind me and have freedom to go, so it helps me."
And if Wembley was an audition for the permanent United role, Solskjaer is surely closer to a callback at the Theatre of Dreams after impressing against Mauricio Pochettino, the man widely tipped as the front runner.
He demonstrated his ability to do the job long term and showed there is science behind the smiles, displaying acuity by exploiting Spurs' vulnerability out wide when they start with a midfield diamond.
Pogba lauded Solskjaer's tactics, insisting he deserved equal credit for the pass that teed up Rashford, saying: "It's a great ball but we've been training for this all week because we knew this was the weakness of Tottenham.
"When they attack one side, they get very high and we need to attack on the opposite side. We knew we could hurt them in this way and we worked on it."
Pochettino abandoned the shape in the second half, switching to a 4-2-3-1, and Solskjaer could not check the shift in momentum, with only the excellence of David de Gea preventing Spurs from not just levelling but winning.
6
Consecutive wins Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has guided Manchester United to, the best of any new manager at the helm of the 20-time English champions.
The Spain No. 1, who later sounded a warning to the rest of the league that they were now seeing "the real United", made 11 saves after the break - more than any other goalkeeper has made in 90 minutes this term - to deny Spurs, and Solskjaer felt he could be the greatest to put on gloves at Old Trafford.
He said: "We've had some great 'keepers at this club and he's challenging both Edwin (van der Sar) and Peter (Schmeichel) for the No. 1 spot historically."
The Norwegian also insisted afterwards the win would have no bearing on his future despite the presence of most of United's power brokers, including executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, former chief executive David Gill and former manager Alex Ferguson in London.
"This game was never about me and him," Solskjaer said of his Argentinian counterpart. "For us, it's three points. We had to beat them today so we had a chance to catch them. Seven points is catchable, 13 would have been impossible.
"I'm just doing my job until my contract runs out at the end of June. The win was massive. Results like this give you confidence."
While de Gea thwarted Spurs' bid to record a first league double over United since the 1989-1990 season, Pochettino showed little sign of disappointment, lauding his side for "one of the best performances that I saw since I've been here and the best 45 minutes (after half-time)".
THE GUARDIAN, REUTERS, THE TIMES, LONDON
Oh how much easier, simpler, sleepier, to trust in gods and in strongmen! It's worth noticing that the concept of unity as triumphant while affirming liberty and diversity is the concept under attack today. E pluribus unum means, actually, in ourselves and each other we trust. That, it turns out, may be the greatest challenge of all.
12 Powerful Ways to Trust Yourself — Purpose Fairy
Substitute Javier Hernandez scored a late brace including a stoppage-time winner to help West Ham United beat Huddersfield Town 4-3 in a roller-coaster Premier League clash on Saturday. The Mexico international, whose diving header had made it 3-3 with six minutes left, nodded the ball in again from Felipe Anderson's cross to send the London
West Ham leave it late as 'Chicharito' double downs spirited
global.espn.com/football/report?gameId=513534
Get a report of the West Ham United vs. Huddersfield Town 2018/2019 English Premier League football match. West Ham leave it late as 'Chicharito' double downs
"We needed 15 points from seven games, now it is 15 from six - we don't have room for many losses," said Solskjaer. "It is harder than it was before, but we're a very good team, so it will be
It Is Too Early To Board The Solskjaer Bandwagon At
Dejected James Milner knows Reds will rue missed chances at Camp Nou Liverpool's veteran midfielder James Milner knows The Reds now face a massive uphill task to have any chance of reaching this year's Champions League final after losing 3-0 to Barcelona in Spain.
Haunted by missed chances, Reds fall in St. Louis | MLB.com
Nathan Ake Strikes Late To Sink Nine-Man Tottenham Hotspur Updated: 04 May 2019 19:54 IST Nathan Ake's last-gasp winner condemned Spurs to a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Bournemouth.
Ake strikes late to sink nine-man Tottenham Hotspur
Football: Italy upset Australia at Women's World Cup with Bonansea double; As Canarinhas thump Reggae Girlz. 22 hours ago. VALENCIENNES, France (REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN) - Barbara Bonansea scored twice to give Italy a surprise, last-gasp 2-1 victory against Australia in their opening Group C game at the women's football World Cup on Sunday (June
2019 Women's World Cup Live Updates: Australia vs. Italy
Call in Iran for footballers to be punished over Japan melee during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup semi-final football match between Iran and Japan at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al-Ain on January
Call in Iran for footballers to be punished over Japan melee
ROME - Napoli could finish the weekend trailing Serie A leaders Juventus by 11 points after Carlo Ancelotti's wasteful side stuttered to a 0-0 draw at Fiorentina on Saturday, as Lautaro Martinez
Napoli Stumble at Fiorentina, Martinez Gets Inter Back
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight Soccer Football - FA Cup Fifth Round - Queens Park Rangers v Watford - Loftus Road, London, Britain - February 15, 2019 Watfords Heurelho Gomes in action REUTERS/David Klein BERLIN (Reuters) - Premier Leagues Watford were made to sweat to beat lowly
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight - msn.com
SINGAPORE: The Football Association of Singapore's (FAS) new technical director Joseph Palatsides hopes to translate Singapore's "culture of excellence" to football and wants to do it by building
Football: New FAS technical director Joseph Palatsides
Football: Hougang United lose two-goal lead twice to draw 3-3
The teaser video of Capt. Barrington Irving flying with the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels in honor of Memorial Day. Captain Irving flew in jet #7, the fastest, of all the Blue Angels.
Kyrie Irving and the Knicks are officially on the clock
0 comments:
Post a Comment