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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes that Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Liverpool on Sunday was a “statement” for his players after reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup by taking a proactive approach.
Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford were right, but Mohamed Salah’s second goal seemed to have pushed the game into extra time. But Bruno Fernandes’ unstoppable late free kick ensured United managed to draw with West Ham at Old Trafford next month.
The encounter was in stark contrast to the goalless draw at Anfield seven days ago, in which both teams canceled each other in a cautious matter.
But speaking after this display of offensive prowess, Solskjaer said: “It is fantastic to win games against the champions last year, they are a fantastic team and we have had good results in recent years playing different systems, but today we played well and won in our terms.
Paul Pogba was deployed both in the center and then right on Sunday
“We have found a way that we and the players believe in and we are getting stronger and stronger. Our mentality to go back 1-0 down. We have shown it many times this season. Physically we have become stronger and stronger and it lasted until the end of the games much more.
“We looked at the difference from a year ago and six months ago … you can’t take many big steps at any one time, but layer by layer we are getting better and better, winning tight matches. Morale and confidence, of course, is very good.
“For us it is a good feeling to play on our terms. We have had good results in recent years, playing with the diamond or with a 3-5-2 … different systems to cancel the opponents but to win today with a selection positive and in the way we view our team, that’s a statement to us.
“That is the boost of confidence that we can combine the best with our style of football.”
Bruno Fernandes celebrates United’s winning goal this Sunday
Premier League leaders United are six points behind Liverpool, and while Solskjaer admitted there was a sense of euphoria in the locker room after this thrilling victory, he has already turned his attention to Sheffield United’s visit on Wednesday night.
The Norwegian revealed that Rashford will undergo a scan Monday morning to assess a knee injury that forced the forward to retire in the final stages, but Solskjaer reserved special praise for match winner Fernandes after putting in the yards. extra in training the eve of the tie.
“He has that quality in and around the area,” added the United manager of Fernandes. “He has shown to give assists and score goals. It was a very good free kick and yesterday he managed to practice a lot. He was practicing extra free kicks for at least half an hour … I don’t know how long. But it worked and paid off.”
Klopp: We have to solve problems together
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was encouraged by his team’s performance in their 3-2 FA Cup loss to Manchester United.
The defeat made this the fifth time in six seasons that Liverpool failed to advance beyond the FA Cup fourth round with Klopp, whose poor start in 2021 continued as they lost in enemy territory.
The Merseysiders are the first reigning Premier League champions to be eliminated from the FA Cup in the fourth round since Manchester City in 2014/15, but Jurgen Klopp believes there were signs of progress following their recent poor form.
“It’s not what we wanted, so it’s frustrating,” Klopp said. “We were not at our absolute peak, but we took many steps in the right direction,” he said.
Jurgen Klopp admits ‘decisive mistakes’ cost his team their FA Cup progress
“You could see that the guys really wanted to change luck, they wanted to score goals and that’s good. We did it, we scored twice, which is also good. It’s all good, but in the end they scored three, we scored two and they are done.
“But we can get positives out of this game, of course. I saw a lot of steps in the right direction and that’s okay.”
After seeing the way his team was beaten at halftime by United, he said they would have to work in training ground this week to prepare for the trip to Tottenham Hotspur, which is also heavily reliant on the counterattack.
Rhys Williams was partially guilty of Manchester United’s second goal
“It was a good preparation for Tottenham,” he said. “We know exactly what we have to work on. If you find yourself in a situation that you don’t like, you want to get out of it.
“We want to get out of there and for that we have to take steps. Tonight we did these steps, not the final ones, but we took steps and that’s fine for now.”
Klopp denied that his team, which would break out of the top four in the Premier League if they lose to Tottenham on Thursday, is running out of confidence.
“I didn’t see any confidence issues tonight. We are working on it, believe me, and we’ll fix it,” he said.
Liverpool have won once in their last seven matches in all competitions.
FA Cup 2020/21 – key dates and draw
The FA Cup schedule has been confirmed, and the final will be held at Wembley on Saturday 15 May.
There will be no replays this season to help ease match congestion.
- Fifth round: Wednesday February 10
- Quarter finals: Saturday March 20
- Semifinals: Saturday April 17
- Final: Saturday 15 May
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