Solskjaer’s United win fifth straight
Alexis Sanchez was resting up in the Manchester United dugout moments after getting substituted when he got a tap on the arm.
It was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, telling him to get out of the manager’s seat and find another.
There’s no doubt who’s the boss inside Old Trafford these days.
On a day when English Premier League stragglers Huddersfield and Cardiff lost to lower-league opponents in the FA Cup third round, there were no problems for Solskjaer’s United as the interim coach collected a record-tying fifth straight win to start his tenure when his team beat second-tier Reading 2-0. The other four victories came in the league.
Juan Mata, from the penalty spot, and Romelu Lukaku scored the first-half goals for United, allowing Solskjaer to join the great Matt Busby (in 1946) as the only United managers to win their first five games. The Norwegian is the interim replacement for the sacked Jose Mourinho, but has stated he wants the job on a full-time basis.
This was hardly a convincing win by United — Reading wasted a slew of chances at Old Trafford — and Solskjaer put the performance down to selecting a makeshift lineup.
“It was always going be difficult with my team selection,” Solskjaer said. “I made it hard for the players, to be fair on them, because it’s a team that’s never played together.”
Titleholder Chelsea and Arsenal were among the other Premier League teams to progress to the last 32. Chelsea 2, Nottingham Forest 0: Cesc Fabregas waved to all corners of Stamford Bridge, patted the badge on his Chelsea jersey, and was hugged by teammates David Luiz and Eden Hazard as he walked off the field.
Fabregas likely played his last game for Chelsea — and in English football — ahead of a reported move to French team Monaco. He couldn’t mark the occasion with a goal: He had a penalty saved in the 30th minute after a stuttered run-up.
It was left to fellow Spaniard Alvaro Morata to score the goals in the 49th and 59th, with the striker set up both times by crosses from 20-year-old winger Callum Hudson-Odoi Arsenal 3, Blackpool 0: For a brief time, there was a danger Arsenal’s match at third-tier Blackpool might be delayed, even postponed, because its bus was unable to set off from the team hotel. A Blackpool fan climbed onto the roof and sat down in protest at the conduct of his club’s owners, but was persuaded to come down after a lengthy standoff.
Arsenal’s 19-year-old forward Joe Willock netted twice at Bloomfield Road, becoming in the process the club’s youngest FA Cup scorer in nearly a decade. Alex Iwobi scored Arsenal’s other goal. Elsewhere: In the two surprises of the third round so far, Huddersfield — the Premier League’s last-place team — lost 1-0 at second-tier Bristol City, last season’s English League Cup semifinalist, while Cardiff was beaten by third-tier Gillingham 1-0.
There will be at least two replays, after Newcastle drew with second-tier Blackburn 1-1, and Southampton was held at second-tier Derby 2-2.