UNITED TAKE ON THE BLUES AT WEMBLEY TODAY Ole trashes VAR favour theory
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer has responded to Frank Lampard’s suggestion that Manchester United are getting a run of VAR decisions in their favour ahead of the FA Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea.
On Thursday at Crystal Palace, United were fortunate to see Jordan Ayew’s equalising goal ruled out for a marginal offside while Victor Lindelof appeared to bring down Wilfried Zaha in the box but no penalty was given.
Chelsea boss Lampard has warned his defenders to be wary of conceding penalties when they look to end a run of three successive defeats by the Reds at Wembley today.
United have been awarded 13 spotkicks this season, equalling the record for the number awarded in a single Premier League campaign.
Solskjaer said: “I could sit here for hours and talk about this. It looks like there is a narrative to try to influence the people making the decisions.
“But we had a penalty at Tottenham taken away from us which cost us two points. The Romeo red card when he nearly crippled Mason Greenwood. Mark Noble should have been sent off when we played West Ham.
“It should actually be me complaining. There is a narrative but we just have to focus on the game, but I am not going too much into it. I am fairly relaxed on it. Referees are objective and are not going to be influenced by emotions.”
United have beaten Chelsea in all three previous meeting this season, doing the league double over the Blues and knocking them out of the EFL Cup.
Solskjaer refused to take credit for his success in head-to-heads with Lampard.
“It’s down to the players doing well,” said the Norwegian. “We’ve been focused in that particular game, we’ve been having the margins, but it’s all down to players when they go there and perform they can beat anyone”
Luke Shaw looks like he will miss out at Wembley but fellow left-back Brandon Williams should be fit.
Both were forced off with injuries against Southampton on Monday and missed the win at Palace three days later. Shaw suffered a swollen ankle while Williams had a head injury.
Solskjaer said: “I don’t think Luke is going to make it. Brandon will hopefully train today and be available.”
Solskjaer did not offer Sergio Romero any guarantees that he will retain his place as United’s cup goalkeeper, while Jesse Lingard could also be involved.
“The team is not selected yet. Jesse and Sergio both have a good chance of being involved,” said Solskjaer.
Meanwhile, Lampard has revealed his pride at leading out the club he has graced as both a player and now manager at Wembley.
“It wouldn’t fall short on me the pride of being able to walk out the club that I love at Wembley, even for a semi-final,” said Lampard.
“It’s a huge game against Manchester United, so I’ll be very proud. It was obviously a fantastic feeling to win the cup as a player.
“I was fortunate enough to win it, and I grew up on it and seeing those wins for my dad in 75 and 80, so I had a strong feeling of what the FA Cup’s about and that’s never changed for me as the years have gone by.”
Chelsea’s 21-year-old Christian Pulisic’s mastery of the Premier League’s physical demands has allowed him to find his feet at Chelsea, according to Lampard.
Pulisic has netted three goals in seven league outings since football’s resumption, with the USA forward boasting a new sharpness.
Blues boss Lampard revealed the he had seized on the coronavirus lockdown as a chance to graft away on his conditioning, and the results been almost immediate.
Now Lampard wants the former Borussia Dortmund player to boost both his goals and assists tally, in order to reach his peak.
“I have seen a real improvement in his all-round game,” said Lampard, of Pulisic. “Coming to the Premier League is very difficult because of the physical nature of the league and we have to remember how young he is and the summer he had.
“I think he found those physical demands pretty strong in the beginning and now you are seeing him deal with it better.”
have