Solskjaer opens up on early wake-up call as Manchester United down Burnley

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was full smiles at full time as his Red Devils side left it late to grab all three points against Burnley.

Goals from Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani saw United come away with a 3-1 win and reduce the deficit at the top of the Premier League table. The Red Devil are now just eight points shy of the summit with six games to play.

Solskjaer’s side, however, did not have it all their way. Dean Henderson, for one, saw an early error end up with the ball in the back of the net. Thankfully, it was adjudged offside and the scores stayed level.

Speaking to BBC Sport (h/t Teamtalk), Solskjaer admitted that this early let-off was a wake-up call to him and his team. He also went on to defend Henderson who is still getting used to being the number one at Old Trafford.

“First one is a wake-up call for him, he’s a proactive keeper and luckily he was offside so another win and Dean is still learning and maturing.”

The Englishman now appears to be the first choice goalkeeper following yet another Premier League start over David de Gea. While he still has much to learn, he will take lessons from his mishaps and go on to better himself in the games to come.

Prophetic?

Solskjaer was also full of praise for Greenwood who appears to be hitting form at the right time. The youngster was talked up as a potential number nine and tonight he showcased his clinical side.

“Very happy for him [Mason Greenwood]. He’s mixing up his game. He goes inside and outside, he’s maturing all the time. It’s lovely to see.”

No more a rookie, the youngster has slowly but surely started to exert his influence on the first-team. Much will be expected of him in the seasons to come.

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There was a fighting quality in the way United went about getting the result they wanted. While the title race may be just beyond our grasp, this never say die attitude will see us go places in the matches to come.

Burnley are no easy team to be pitted against and tonight United showed they have the bottle to do what is needed to get a win.