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MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Manchester United’s 5-0 loss to Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday proved that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finally has the strength in depth that he lacked Last season.
The result against last season’s semi-finalists was even more impressive as Solskjaer gave key players a break from the starting lineup and lined up an untested midfield combination.
Marcus Rashford, who scored three times after coming in as a substitute in the 63rd minute, was allowed to start on the bench given the confidence Solskjaer now has in Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood, who scored, in their attack.
Bruno Fernandes was also held back during the second half with new signing Donny van de Beek given his first start outside of the EFL Cup.
Paul Pogba has not started since a 6-1 home loss to Tottenham, but was called up alongside Nemanja Matic.
It wasn’t until Fernandes and Rashford were on the field that United got away with the game, but as Solskjaer pointed out, the base had been built without them.
“Marcus Rashford came in and did well, but the preliminary work was there by the team, that’s what you want that from the substitutes. What a change they made. Leipzig has a lot of press, intensity, so we had to dig deep.” he said.
“We had to rest some because the season is relentless, so we use the squad. This group is coming together. The more quality and spirit you have, the more performance you get.”
There was even a cameo for new signing Edinson Cavani, who had a goal disallowed in the later stages, but after being forced to pass several players last season, Solskjaer can now rotate like other big clubs.
“We made some changes today because of (Arsenal) on Sunday, as you have to be prepared for that. We need to score points,” said the Norwegian.
(Reporting by Simon Evans, edited by Ed Osmond)
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