Solskjaer reacts to shoot-out trumph
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised his players after they coolly converted all our penalties in the 5-3 shoot-out victory over Rochdale in the Carabao Cup.
After a 1-1 draw in normal time, Juan Mata, Andreas Pereira, Fred, Mason Greenwood and Daniel James all found the net from 12 yards to book the Reds a fourth-round tie at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea at the end of next month.
Here's what the boss had to say to MUTV after the evening's dramatic finale...
PERFECT PENALTIES
“Yeah, we handled that really well. I think everyone, they just wanted to take penalties, they went up there as they did against AC Milan in Cardiff. I’m very pleased with the confidence. Dan is asking to take the penalty and that’s what you want, you want players to come there and say 'give it to me'."
Solskjaer: We handled the penalties well
Ole was pleased by Greenwood's goal and our success in the shootout, but he wasn't pleased by the overall performance...
WE NEED TO MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR OURSELVES
“We go 1-0 up in many games and, today again, we go 1-0 up and you think go on then, get the second, which is the key now. And that’s a learning curve for these boys as well. We need to go for the second. At this club, we don’t just sit back and hope that’s enough. If you settle for good enough, that’s not what we want.”
ANOTHER GREAT FINISH FROM GREENWOOD
“He’s got two great feet, [he took the penalty] with his right. It must be a nightmare for defenders having him one-on-one in the box. As you say, he can go both ways, which is, for me, fantastic. You can just see he’s got quality and he’ll get his share of games but he’s young.
"We’ll allow him to grow slowly but surely.”
THOUGHTS ON CHELSEA
“If you want to win it, you have to beat the best. We played [Chelsea] in the first game of the season this year, we played them in the FA Cup last year. And it slots nicely into a couple of weeks with lots of travelling [United play Partizan Belgrade, Norwich City, Chelsea and Bournemouth, all away from home, in the space of nine days]. That’s how it is. We’ve got to make the best out of it, and I’m sure we will because that’s the type of group this is and that’s the type of club we are.
"We’re going to relish it and look forward to it.”
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