MIND THE GAP!
Solskjaer admits United are not at same level as rivals Liverpool
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer leads Manchester United into tomorrow’s crunch Premier League clash with Liverpool admitting his team are not at the same level as their rivals.
United finished second last season as Liverpool’s title defence crumbled around them, with Jurgen Klopp’s team ending up in fourth place. But Solskjaer admits United were lucky to finish ahead of Liverpool and they still need to improve.
‘It’s going to take everything to get results against the best teams in the world and Liverpool are one of them,’ said the United boss.
‘They’re one of the teams we’re chasing. What they’ve done in the last four years is something we’re striving towards and trying to go past them.
‘We ended up above them last season but they had a very bad spell, maybe because of bad luck with injuries.
‘Now they are back to their best. We have not won the league in the last eight years. You can understand Manchester City or Liverpool walking on to the pitch and thinking quality is enough. We have players who need to keep on improving and developing.’
A win for Liverpool tomorrow would put them seven points ahead of United but Solskjaer believes it is too early to talk about the title race.
‘To be seven behind is going to be a big distance, but if we win it would be one point,’ he added. ‘It’s so early in the season, every game matters just as much.’
Liverpool have scored at least three goals in each of their away games this season and Solskjaer added: ‘Liverpool are on a great run of form, showing some individual skills that you almost cannot defend against.
‘As a team, we have to be compact, aggressive, with a strong mindset and physical energy.’
Having come from two goals down to beat Atalanta 3-2 in the Champions League on Wednesday, United’s performance summed up much of their season so far.
But Klopp said: ‘With the quality they have, they can be dangerous. I am preparing for a tough game.’
MANCHESTER UNITED re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo was romantic. After all that time apart, the heart-throb was back where he belonged. But it’s been looking less Sleepless in Seattle and more Meandering in Manchester. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after Wednesday’s win over Atalanta that anyone questioning Ronaldo’s work-rate should watch the performance he’d just put in. Sorry, I’m not buying it and you shouldn’t, either. I, like any Premier League fan, was excited by the return of Ronaldo. But I had my reservations about how it would work. I wrote a column in this newspaper on August 28 saying it would either be a success or a sideshow, and that Solskjaer would struggle to handle his new signing’s ego. No one can doubt his ability. No one can dispute his numbers. Ronaldo equals goals and he’s popped up with a couple of important ones. But the game has evolved in the sense that the world’s top coaches do not tolerate carrying luxury players. If you don’t run, you don’t play for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City or Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea or Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. This was a signing forced on United’s manager and, behind all those smiles for the cameras, he must have been thinking, ‘How the hell am I going to handle him?’ Would Solskjaer dare sit
Ronaldo down in his office at Carrington and tell him, in no uncertain terms, ‘If you don’t press, you don’t play?’ I’d be surprised. Once Ronaldo gets going in a full sprint, he’s a blur. It’s like he’s got itching powder in his boots. Despite his defence of his striker in public, I’m willing to bet Solskjaer would love it if his 36-year-old forward applied some of that rapidness into pressuring opposing players. But the statistics show he doesn’t do that. He’s in light jog mode more often than not. Of the 50 forwards who have played 360-plus minutes in the Premier League this season, Ronaldo averages the fewest pressures per 90. He’s at the bottom of the pile. United made a major signing in the summer. Commercially, it was monumental, considering this is the planet’s most