Varun Pai
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals why he brought on Manchester United star Mason Greenwood against Atalanta
Speaking after the game (h/t Manchester Evening News), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed that he brought Manchester United star Mason Greenwood off the bench against Atalanta to keep a hold of the ball.
The Red Devils had a poor first-half performance, and things only worsened when Raphael Varane held his hamstring and went down. The Frenchman had to be brought off, but instead of bringing on a wing-back or a centre-back, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought on Greenwood in the 38th minute of the game.
The youngster had a fine start to the season but was dropped against Tottenham Hotspur on the weekend after a poor performance in the Liverpool thrashing. However, he was brought on by the Norwegian and produced quality on the counterattack and pressed from the front.
Solskjaer explained after the game (h/t Manchester Evening News), that he brought the young Englishman off the bench to keep a hold of the ball after an erratic and clumsy start from the Red Devils.
“Mason, apart from Cristiano and David, Mason has had a very, very good season and is so clean on the ball, and he keeps holds of it, if he gets man-marked one against one, he’ll keep it. And we were 1-0 down, and you still have to have the discipline and make sure we don’t go gung-ho open, but and we needed a little bit more upfront and Mason provided that quality.”
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Although Greenwood did produce moments of quality, he could never effectively open up the Atalanta back-line, and United needed two moments of brilliance from Cristiano Ronaldo on the night to secure a draw.
The 20-year-old needs to regain some of his early-season form again, if he is to nail down a starting spot under Solskjaer this season. The competition in the frontline is severe, especially now that Marcus Rashford is also available for selection. The youngster will now be hoping to make a mark in the Manchester-derby on the weekend.
