Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Aims Dig at Man City Ahead of Crunch Manchester Derby

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has aimed a not-so-subtle dig at Manchester City ahead of Saturday’s crunch derby clash at the Etihad Stadium, diverting attention to the Sky Blues’ modest past when they weren’t even a Premier League club.

City have become one of the biggest clubs in the world since winning the lottery in 2008 when Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour assumed ownership and invested well over £1bn.

But when Solskjaer arrived at United as a player in 1996, City had just been relegated from the Premier League. They would then go on to drop even further, falling into the third tier before they eventually made it back to the top flight after four years away.

It wasn’t until his fifth season at United that Solskjaer experienced his first Manchester derby.

“At least we play [City] every year now,” the United boss commented at his press conference.

“It took many years before I played a Manchester derby myself. It’s changed in a way now. Man City are a better team now than when I was playing.”

United have finished below City every season since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, although the Red Devils have still enjoyed good results against their rivals, including a 4-2 win under Louis van Gaal in 2015 and a comeback 3-2 victory under Jose Mourinho in 2018.

United go into this weekend’s derby off the back of an important 2-1 win over Tottenham in midweek, while City have surprisingly struggled for consistency this season and have failed to keep a clean sheet in any competition since October.

In an attacking boost, Solskjaer has confirmed that he expects to have Anthony Martial back after missing the Spurs game, although the Frenchman may not be fit enough to start. Paul Pogba is still missing but Solskjaer is still counting on him to return before the end of the month.

“We hope to have Anthony, definitely, for part of the game. I am not sure he is able to start,” the United boss explained, via ManUtd.com.

“Paul probably won’t be available. We expect him back as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. He's out on the grass training. I said [he'll be back] in 2019, so hopefully we'll see him before the new year, definitely.”

United fans will be hoping Marcus Rashford can continue his fine form. The 22-year-old scored both goals against Spurs and has netted six times in his last seven Premier League games.

“He is consistently getting chances and getting into better positions. On Wednesday night he was unbelievable and for me, we hope to see that again,” Solskjaer said.

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