Solskjaer lauds United after sinking Cottagers
fulham 0 manchester united 3
Pogba (14, pen 65), Martial (23)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hailed Manchester United’s win at Fulham and a return to the top four as perfect preparation for the Champions League clash with Paris St-Germain on Tuesday.
United sealed a comfortable victory at Craven Cottage as a Paul Pogba brace and a fine Anthony Martial strike extended Solskjaer’s unbeaten start as interim manager.
The Norwegian has overseen 10 wins from his 11 games at the helm and he made six changes in west London with one eye on his first taste of managing the Red Devils in Europe.
Pogba stole the show, but Martial impressed on his recall with Diogo Dalot, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling helping to keep a clean sheet after coming back into the side, with Romelu Lukaku and Juan Mata also given a chance to impress.
Asked if this was ideal preparation for facing PSG, Solskjaer said: “Yes, I would have to say so because it’s a tough place to come.
“We gave them the first 10 minutes, maybe played into their hands. They had some counter-attacks, they put the ball into the box a few times, but then after we scored the first goal we played a fantastic last 80 minutes.
“It’s a squad game and today of course it’s a chance for everyone to say, ‘I want to play on Tuesday night because it’s a big game’.
“You’ve got to trust the players, because the league is vital for us, but it’s a chance for them to say, ‘I should play on Tuesday’.
“I’ve been in that situation a few times and it’s about who grabs it. There were some good performances today, I have to say.”
The victory lifts United into the Premier League top four for the first time since the opening weekend of the season – having been 11 points adrift when Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in December.
“(Being in the top four) is a big thing,” conceded Solskjaer. “So let’s make sure we stay in there and we’ll do that if we get some help, but we’ve got to concentrate on ourselves, we can’t really think about or control what other teams do.”
Appointed a month before Solskjaer, Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri was subjected to chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” early in the second half by the irked Craven Cottage faithful.
His side had started brightly enough and Luciano Vietto struck wide inside the opening minute, before divisive Schurrle had two attempts. But that confident play was shortlived, with an early error by Fulham centreback Maxime Le Marchand sapping confidence. Playing with a four-man backline, Ranieri’s men held tight until United deviated from the script for the first time in the 14th minute.
So concerned about Martial cutting on to his right foot, Fulham failed to properly track Pogba’s run and the midfielder lashed home from an acute angle. It was a superbly-hit effort, but goalkeeper Rico could have done better.
Fulham were rattled and nine minutes later Martial showed just why they were right to have been concerned about him.
United won possession and Phil Jones found the fleet-footed attacker just inside his own half. The Frenchman took off, bursting forward under pressure from Denis Odoi and jinked past Le Marchand before finding the bottom corner.
Handball appeals and a deflected Jean Michael Seri attempt was the meek response offered by Fulham, who saw Martial and Jones efforts deflect wide as half-time approached.
Calum Chambers was denied by David De Gea before the break, with the second half just eight minutes old when the natives became restless.
“You don’t know what you’re doing” chanted a number inside Craven Cottage as Ranieri brought on Cyrus Christie for Schurrle, with fans singing the name of substitute Ryan Sessegnon.
United dominated the second half without exerting themselves.
Ander Herrera stung the palms of Rico, before Pogba put the game to bed in the 65th minute, scoring from the spot after Le Marchand fouled Juan Mata.
Ranieri felt his players lacked the composure at 1-0 down to get themselves back into the game against such talented opposition.
“We started well,” he said. “We created two great chances to score a goal, but suddenly Pogba scored their first goal and I thought ‘okay, stay calm and we can continue to play’.
“But my players are very…. not anxious, but they want to score immediately to draw the match and against big teams that is difficult. Whenn you play against champions you have to stay calm and not lose your composure – that is the real problem.”