Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said the Manchester derby was the “best game that you can ask for” as Manchester United seek to bounce back from the disappointment of their Champions League exit.
United had one foot in the knockout stages after opening wins against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig but Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat away to the German side dumped them out of them out of the competition. Solskjaer now has to rally the troops for today’s Old Trafford clash with City as United look to win just their second home Premier League match of the season.
The Red Devils are sixth in the league after four straight wins, one point ahead of City, who are showing signs of hitting form after a stuttering start to the season. Solskjaer said yesterday that his players were disappointed by their Champions League exit but must now “move on”.
“It was a tight group decided by fine margins,” he said. “I think you can see that in most of the games. We had a long travel back, so we had a day of recovery on Wednesday. Then after that the focus has been good. The focus has just been on this game and the Manchester derby, which is what you want the players to get onto straightaway. That’s probably the best game that you can ask for after such a disappointment because it does stick in your system.”
The issue of Paul Pogba’s future dominated the build-up to Tuesday’s Champions League match after his agent Mino Raiola said the Frenchman was “unhappy” at the club. “I speak to my players on a daily basis and Paul’s no different to anyone else,” said Solskjaer. “For me what was disappointing this week was us going out in the Champions League. Players want to go through in that and whatever anyone’s representatives say can’t really affect me.”
David de Gea is another United player under the spotlight after he was criticised for not doing more to stop Leipzig’s third goal, leading to calls for England international Dean Henderson to be handed a run in the side. But Solskjaer backed the Spaniard to bounce back. “I think David’s a top goalkeeper,” Solskjaer said. “Of course I do and rightly so he’s on lists of being the best goalkeeper in Europe. For me, he’s handled criticism before, he’s handled setbacks before and he’s a boy, or a man, that we really rely on.”
Solskjaer said Anthony Martial was available after missing the Leipzig game but he had yet to make a decision on fellow forward Edinson Cavani, who was also absent.
Meanwhile, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he does not need to give any advice to under-fire Solskjaer on the pressures of management. “We know it,” said Guardiola on the speed with which managers’ jobs are put at risk. “That’s why we get a lot of salary. The important thing is to know the value of Solskjaer is there. There is no doubt about this.”
Solskjaer’s men got the better of City three times out of four meetings between the clubs last season and for the first time in Guardiola’s time in charge, it is the red half of Manchester who go into a derby ahead of their local rivals in the table.
“I don’t have to give him support because he’s strong enough, he knows how this job works,” added Guardiola. “When you win you are a genius and when you lose, (you) have to be sacked. It happened in United and all the clubs around the world, it is a reality.”
United and City are just two of five genuine title contenders, with Chelsea perched just two points behind Tottenham and Liverpool at the top of the table. A slip in the standards set by Liverpool and City in recent seasons promises the most open race for years.
New Chelsea signings Edouard Mendy, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Timo Werner are making a big impact for Frank Lampard’s men, who are on a 17-game unbeaten run in all competitions, excluding the penalty shootout defeat to Tottenham in the League Cup.
The Blues can leapfrog Spurs when they travel to Everton today evening, with Tottenham seeking to extend their own unbeaten run in the league to 11 games at Crystal Palace a day later. Tottenham have not won the league since 1961 but, in Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, currently have the most lethal strike duo in the league and have conceded just one goal in their past six league games.
Liverpool are well-placed, with their injury crisis easing. Trent Alexander-Arnold started for the first time in a month on Wednesday, captaining his boyhood club at just 22 in the 1-1 Champions League draw against Midtjylland.
Arsenal struggles Arsenal are the only member of the so-called “Big Six” who have lost touch with the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are a lowly 15th in the table after their sixth defeat in 11 games at the hands of Tottenham last week. The main problem for Mikel Arteta’s men is the lack of goals — only the current bottom three have scored fewer than Arsenal’s 10 so far and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not found the net from open play in the league since the opening weekend. But the Spaniard was buoyed by his side’s reaction after the defeat to Spurs, saying he sees a team with “big belief”.
Fixtures (all times GMT)
Today: Wolves v Aston Villa (1230), Newcastle v West Brom (1500), Manchester United v Manchester City (1730), Everton v Chelsea (2000)
Tomorrow: Southampton v Sheffield United (1200), Crystal Palace v Tottenham (1415), Fulham v Liverpool (1630), Arsenal v Burnley (1915), Leicester v Brighton (1915)
