Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praises Man Utd reaction in victory over Tottenham
By Max Cooper
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was full of praise for his Manchester United players on Saturday evening, after they bounced back from a string of disappointing results - and in the case of last weekend, utterly humiliating - to hammer Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 in north London.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford gave the Red Devils the perfect reaction to their recent 5-0 defeat to Liverpool, as the Norwegian boss changed personnel and formation for this must-win encounter.
And speaking to the BBC after the victory, Solskjaer believed his Man Utd players 'took on board' everything they worked on during the week, while hailing the return from injury of Raphael Varane as 'massive.'
"Of course when you come off the pitch winning 3-0, keeping the ball away from our goal - David de Gea didn't have a save to make - that's pleasing. In football sometimes it goes for us and sometimes against.
"We worked on this this week. The boys were brilliant, they took it on board. Raphael Varane is a top player. He reads the game well. He's quick and so experienced. To get him back is massive for us."
Solskjaer applauded the efforts of his forward line too, describing Ronaldo as 'the best,' while citing the experience the Portuguese striker and Cavani bring as another crucial reason behind their selection in the side.
"Great goals, all of them," he gushed. "The first one is the major one. What a pass from Bruno [Fernandes] and Cristiano [Ronaldo] is the best. If he misses one he's still as focused for the next one. What a goal. If he's not up there when all these balls come in, I don't know.
"The experience of Edinson Cavani and Cristiano is massive. We need it. We can't hide. The week has been difficult for all the players. They really stuck at it. Experience counts in situations like this.
"We've built this performance on hard work, discipline and keeping the ball away from our goal. Spaces will open up especially if you get the first goal. The first goal always decides how the game goes.
"We've got a hard week again. Champions League game then City. We've got to digest this one and be ready for Tuesday."
When asked whether this impressive performance means Man Utd can move on from their humiliation against Liverpool, Solskjaer insisted that while it is now 'history,' it will always remain 'a dark spot' on their CV.
"Of course it doesn't," he said. "That's always going to be in the history books - one of the darkest days. A dark spot on our CV. But football becomes history so quickly."