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Rob dawsonCorrespondent
Paul Pogba knows he should have thrown Declan Rice’s free kick “in the mush” instead of raising his hands to award a penalty kick against West Ham, according to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Pogba was penalized for handling the ball in the penalty area in the first halftime, allowing Michail Antonio to open the scoring from the spot.
Mason Greenwood called in the second half to win a 1-1 draw and leave United needing a point against Leicester on Sunday to qualify for the Champions League, but Solskjaer insisted after Pogba knows he should have allowed the free kick by Rice will hit him in the face.
“It is a natural reaction,” said Solskjaer.
“Paul held up his hands knowing he should have taken it in the porridge. It flew at 100 miles an hour.”
The tie means United will face Leicester face-to-face on the last day of the season one point ahead of Brendan Rodgers’ team and if they avoid defeat at King Power Stadium they will secure a top-four result for the season. first time since 2018.
“After the block we had to go for it, we had to go for goal difference and points and the effort has been fantastic,” said Solskjaer.
“We have given ourselves a fantastic opportunity and a great starting point for Sunday.”
In addition to praising striker Greenwood, who scored his 10th goal of the season in the Premier League, Solskjaer also highlighted David de Gea’s performance after the Spaniard recovered from his grim display against Chelsea to make a crucial save from Jarrod. Bowen to keep the score at 1-1.
“David showed why we kept him on that goal, it was a great save,” said Solskjaer.
“I knew I was going to be focused. Everyone is sore about what happened on Sunday, but today he has shown that he can stay focused.”
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