OGS: Winning trophy will be big step
United face Man City in League Cup semis
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes winning the League Cup would be a “big step” in Manchester United’s development as he prepares for today’s semi-final showdown with Manchester City at Old Trafford.
United went out to Pep Guardiola’s men in the final four of the competition last season, before losing in the semis of the FA Cup and Europa League.
However, the Red Devils had a thirdplace finish in the Premier League behind City and runaway winners Liverpool to show for Solskjaer’s first full season in charge.
United have pushed on again this season in the league to find themselves level on points with Liverpool at the top of the table with a game in hand on the champions.
“A semi-final is a chance to get to the final, to get your hands on a trophy in the next round and for this team it would be a very, very big step getting your hands on a trophy,” Solskjaer told a press conference yesterday.
“We’ve developed a lot in the last six months, last 12 months since the last semi in the Carabao [League] Cup so of course it’s not just learning to win semis.
“We’ve also earned the right to feel we can go all the way with our performances. We are confident, we are going into the game with good form so there’s no excuses.”
United have not won a trophy since last lifting the League Cup and Europa League in Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge, four years ago.
“You play football to win trophies, to get your hands on a trophy — even though when you win that trophy you move on to the next one,” added Solskjaer, who won 10 major trophies in his time as a player at United.
“But it gives you hunger to get more, so of course the squad is focused, we’re ready to give it a go. I think we’ve prepared well for this game.”
This season’s League Cup semi-finals are one-off matches instead of the usual two legs due to the congested schedule as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
United are not expected to be busy in the transfer window this month, but Solskjaer has already made one new addition to his backroom staff, with former midfielder Darren Fletcher returning to Old Trafford.
“His experience of being here through both successful and difficult times, we felt it was right now for Darren to come in and give us that input,” said Solskjaer.
“I think it’s also important that we bring ex-players that have been somewhere else.
“I’ve been somewhere else after having worked under Mick Phelan, Sir Alex [Ferguson] and Carlos [Queiroz]. We know one way of the coaching but they’ve been to different clubs and got different ideas.
“Fletch, with his ideas and thoughts will improve us in the backroom staff.”
United and City played to a scoreless draw in the Premier League last month.
UNION BACKS CAVANI
The Uruguayan players union (AFU) on Monday urged England’s Football Association (FA) to overturn the threematch ban handed to Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani for using a racial term, saying the sanction showed the body’s ethnocentric vision.
The striker was suspended by the FA and fined £100,000 after a term he used in an Instagram post following United’s 3-2 win at Southampton on Nov 29, before taking it down and apologising.
However, the AFU criticised the FA, saying it “committed a discriminatory act against the culture and way of life of the Uruguayan people”.
The statement was shared on Twitter by Uruguay captain Diego Godin.
“Edinson Cavani has never committed any conduct that could be interpreted as racist,” the AFU said. “He merely used a common expression in Latin America to affectionately address a loved one or close friend.
“The sanction shows the English Football Association’s biased, dogmatic and ethnocentric vision that only allows a subjective interpretation to be made from its particular and excluding conclusion, however flawed it may be.
“We request the FA to immediately overturn the sanction imposed on Edinson Cavani and reinstate his good name and honour in the world that has been so unfairly tarnished by this reprehensible decision.”