Chelsea handed an unfair advantage for Cup tie: Ole
MANCHESTER United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says it is unfair that Chelsea have an extra two days to prepare for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final.
The 1999 treble hero won numerous trophies with the club during his playing days but has yet to seal silverware during his time in the Old Trafford dugout.
United are the bookmakers’ favourites to lift next month’s Europa League, when they could complete a double if they can make it past Chelsea and go on to win the FA Cup.
But Solskjaer’s side head into Sunday’s Wembley semi-final at a disadvantage due to the scheduling.
While Chelsea played Sheffield United on Saturday and won 1-0 against relegated Norwich on Tuesday, United head to Wembley on the back of Monday’s 2-2 draw with Southampton and a trip to Crystal Palace tonight.
“There is a concern, obviously, that they’ve had 48 hours’ more rest and recovery than us,” Solskjaer said. “It’s not fair.
“We spoke about a fair scheduling going into this restart. Of course it isn’t. But I have to think about Thursday. We’ve got to win that one, focus on that, and then pick up the pieces after that.”
Solskjaer said Sunday’s match was “irrelevant” when it came to his selection at Selhurst Park but the scheduling might not be as United look to balance their Champions League chase with their FA Cup tilt.
“We’ve not really played every three days — we will now, definitely,” said the United boss, who has to assess the fitness of Mason Greenwood, Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams.
“The next two weeks will be hectic but, then again, we’re fit.
Very fit. Our lads have not felt as fit as this for years, I’m sure.
“There are some young lads there that will be fitter than the average Joe and quicker to recover but the way the coaches and fitness staff have worked them over the lockdown or even throughout the whole season…
“It was a big thing towards the end of last season that we felt our team wasn’t fit enough, we got a few injuries. This season we’ve not had that problem.
“No, it’s not going to be a problemandaconcernforusbut 24 hours, 48 hours is a big difference at this time as well.
“We’ve not been handed four aces, to put it that way, in the last two weeks. But we’re going to have to put up a poker face and play the cards well.”
Solskjaer does not have any time for distractions given a challenging period was made even harder by Michael Obafemi’s stoppage-time equaliser for Southampton on Monday.
The 2-2 draw meant United missed the chance to jump up to third, but they are assured of a top-four finish if they win their remaining games against Crystal Palace, West Ham and fellow Champions League hopefuls Leicester.
“Keep on doing what we have been doing, trust yourselves,” Solskjaer said of his message to the players ahead of tonight’s trip to Selhurst Park.
“You’re at a club where it always boils down to the last couple of weeks, or two or three games, in the season anyway.
“We’ve done fantastically since we restarted. We started with the draw against Tottenham, of course, we then had a great run.
That little bit of a setback is a test for mentalities.”
Paul Pogba has been one of the first names on the team sheet and could play his eighth match since the restart against Palace — as many appearances as he managed during an injury-ravaged season before the suspension.
“I’ve been speaking more or less every day with Paul,” Solskjaer said. “Of course he knows that he wouldn’t be dropped, but when Paul plays like this he wouldn’t be dropped from any team in the world — France or Man United.
“But he’s been out for a long, long time. There was a question mark before this game (against Southampton).
“‘How do you feel?’ and he felt ready for it and that was great, so now let’s see how he is today or even tomorrow morning.
“He’s been fantastic since the restart and brought a lot to the team. There were one or two question marks before the Southampton game about who was going to play but we made the decisions that we did.”
Solskjaer was less forthcoming when it came to the lifting of Manchester City’s European ban and Pep Guardiola’s comments about his club being unable to compete financially with United for Harry Maguire and Alexis Sanchez.
“My concern is what we can do and not what others can do,” Solskjaer said. “If other teams can compete with us, fine. If they can’t, fine. We just have to run this club as well as we can.
“The other clubs, we’re too far behind. We’ve a smaller amount to climb than last year but there’s still a mountain to climb.”
SOUTHAMPTON boss Ralph Hasenhuttl admits he is scared his best players could be picked off this summer.
Saints have had a strong second half of the season and are comfortably in mid-table with three games left to play.
Midfielder Pierre-emile Hojbjerg has already said he will not sign a new contract, Ryan Bertrand has impressed at left-back while Danny Ings has scored 19 goals and may interest top clubs.
Hasenhuttl says it is part of the fabric of being Southampton manager.
“I’m always scared that players playing well in our team are interesting for others,” he said ahead of hosting Brighton tonight. “But this is our situation we have to live with. It’s normal for us. We are a developing club. We develop players who are young but we also develop players who are a little bit older.
“If they then outperform and another club comes and says, ‘He’s interesting for us’, then we cannot stop them going.
“The players know what they have with us. If a big club comes and wants to sign them, even if he has a (long) contract we have no chance to compete with them.
“But that’s not a problem. This is part of the business.
“We have to first finish the season and then we will have a look at what happens.”