Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Insists Man Utd Won't Settle for a Draw in Crucial Leipzig Clash
By Tom Gott
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has rejected suggestions that he could set his side up for a draw in Tuesday's crucial Champions League tie with RB Leipzig.
The Red Devils currently sit top of the group on goal difference, with Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain also sitting on nine points. A draw against the German side would be enough to guarantee that United qualify for the next round, given United will boast a better head to head record.
⏳ The countdown to matchday 6️⃣ is ?#MUFC #UCL pic.twitter.com/DBRbWSBxv9
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 7, 2020
Should they lose against the team who currently sit third in the Bundesliga, they will be facing elimination. PSG face group strugglers Istanbul Basaksehir in the other game on Tuesday evening.
With so much riding on the game, there had been suggestions that United boss Solskjaer may be better off just looking for a point, but he insisted that's not how he does things.
"Sitting back and hoping for a 0-0 draw? That's not in our genes - it’s not in the team’s genes, it’s not in the club’s genes,” Solskjaer said (via The Telegraph).
Even if United do fall behind, Solskjaer insisted that he wouldn't be worried as his side have shown a real desire to come from behind and win games this season. Victories over Brighton, Newcastle, Everton, Southampton and West Ham have all come from losing positions.
“I can definitely see those traits coming back, the belief coming back,” Solskjaer said. “I don’t know how many times we’ve come back and how many goals we’ve scored in the last ten or 15 minutes but it’s a lot and that’s a big difference from last season.
“With the fitness we’re getting, the spirit we’re getting, the pace we have got, it’s great for us knowing that we don’t give up. The character is getting into this team. Man Utd has a tradition and history and opponents would probably know about that as well. But we’re just working hard to get into people’s heads that might happen so they can’t switch off.”
While Solskjaer is confident that the club's history will play into their hands, there is a memory which will leave some United fans concerned.
Five years ago to the day, Louis van Gaal's United were eliminated from the Champions League group stage after falling to a 3-2 loss to Wolfsburg in Germany on the final game of the round, so fans will be hoping that history does not repeat itself here.