Solskjaer reveals why Manchester United lined up with no changes against AC Milan
Speaking in an interview (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explained his decision to name an unchanged starting XI against AC Milan from their weekend win over West Ham United.
The Red Devils scraped a 1-0 win against the Hammers last weekend in the Premier League. And the same line-up from that day started the 2nd leg of the last-16 Europa League tie against the Italian giants.
Solskjaer revealed that this was because the result against the Hammers was good. And considering our 1-1 draw against Milan at Old Trafford, he believed that this line-up would best suit their purpose.
“We felt the game was a good game, good preparation. We looked at the other game against Milan and we felt these changes might make a difference for us tonight.”
An inspired substitution
And that’s what happened. United went on to win by a 2-1 scoreline on aggregate, but it wasn’t a starter who scored. Solskjaer made no substitutions against the Hammers but used one substitution against Il Rossonerri.
That proved to be the game-changing substitution of Paul Pogba. The 28-year-old Frenchman returned from injury to replace Marcus Rashford at half-time and score the only goal of the game in the 48th minute.
There were no further substitutions from Solskjaer and the Red Devils held on to the 1-0 scoreline until the final whistle. This ensured the club’s qualification to the quarter-finals.
More Manchester United News:
- Transfer News: Solskjaer admits Diogo Dalot will return to Manchester United in the summer
- Manchester United News: Solskjaer praises miserliness at the back as a major factor in AC Milan triumph
- Manchester United fans react as Paul Pogba creates news on his return to Italy
United won against Danish outfit FC Copenhagen at the same stage last year but went on to lose to eventual champions, Sevilla, in the semi-finals.