Skip to main content

Men's Football Marcus Rashford scores Manchester United's only goal of the game as Solskjaer hails defensive duo after victory

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER hailed the performances of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof following Manchester United’s win over Leicester.

The centre back pairing have been an ever-present in United’s starting XI in the league this season but Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Foxes was just their second clean sheet of the season.

Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the eighth minute after being tripped by Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu.

The England striker could have had a second but for his free-kick from 30-yards out crashing against the angle of the goal.

Leicester had chances to get back into the game through James Maddison and Ben Chilwell but both failed to find the back of the net.

But Solskjaer, who scored 126 goals in 366 games during his 11-year stay at Old Trafford as a player, felt that Maguire and Lindelof thwarted the Foxes attack, in particular the threat of their leading goalscorer Jamie Vardy.

“I thought they did excellently today. They read the game well,” said the Norwegian.

“I’ve got loads of admiration for Vardy. I think he’s my type of centre forward, runs in in behind, harasses and you’ve got to be spot on with the decision-making, when to stay up, when to drop off, and both of them proved their worth today. There were a couple of races and Harry did well.”

The United manager also praised Maguire for remaining composed as the travelling Leicester fans made their feelings known towards their former player following his £85 million transfer in the summer.

”I don’t think it [the abuse] bothers him whatsoever,” said Solskjaer. “You’ve got to be that way and when you play, when you coach, when you manage, we don’t get carried away when we win a game that we maybe didn’t deserve to win, but we don’t get in the dumps when we don’t win.

“Because the performances have been miles better than this, and today we just have to accept three points and wake up tomorrow with a smile, have a day off, relax a bit and look forward to next week.”

Leicester manger Brendan Rodgers also praised Maguire but admitted that the chorus of boos the England defender received every time he touched the ball was part of the course.

He said: “It’s normally the way, isn’t it? I think all the Leicester City players, coaches and supporters, in the main, really respect Harry for the all the great work he did at Leicester.

“He made the move, it was great for Leicester, great for him and he gets the chance to live his dream playing here at Manchester United. He is a good guy and a top-class player.”

OWNED BY OUR READERS

We're a reader-owned co-operative, which means you can become part of the paper too by buying shares in the People’s Press Printing Society.

 

 

Become a supporter

Fighting fund

You've Raised:£ 6,981
We need:£ 11,019
13 Days remaining
Donate today