Highlights:
- Manchester United win the EPL match against Burnley
- Man Utd now leading EPL league table
- Half-time VAR controversy forced Solskjaer to calm Manchester United players
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manager of Manchester United, said he had to calm his players down at the half-time of the match against Burnley after 2 vital VAR (Video Assistant Referees) decisions went against the Red Devils.
After listening to the manager, the Red Devils eventually prevailed 1-0 at Turf Moor, however, strike from Paul Pogba sent them right at the top of the English Premier League points table.
The Red Devils could have had a one-man advantage in the first half of the match against Burnley after Robbie Brady appeared to deny Edinson Cavani a goalscoring opportunity with a foul outside the box, However, after the video review, match referee Kevin Friend disregarded Brady’s foul entirely and instead called out Manchester United defender Luke Shaw for an earlier challenge, and issued the left-back a yellow card.
Soon after, United’s defender Harry Maguire opened broke the deadlock with a splendid header, however, the happiness was shortlived for the Red Devils as that goal was called back due to a controversial foul by the defender during his leap.
Solskjaer admitted that his players were upset with the decisions made by the referee and needed to calm them down during the 15 minute break between 1st and 2nd half.
Also Read: Manchester United Boss Not Thinking About Premier League Title, Says, “We’re not even halfway!”
Solskjaer told, “You’ve got to calm them down at half-time because emotions are running high because they disagree with the things that happen out there,” to Sky Sports.
“So we have to take back control and we played really well in the second half and we held out at the end,” he said.
Talking about these two incidents, Solskjaer added, “I’ve not watched any of the decisions so I can’t really say. Might’ve been a foul by Luke apparently so that’s probably the right decision, definitely not a foul for Harry for his goal.
“If you can’t jump and head it in like this, I don’t believe that’s anywhere near a foul. Delighted with the response after a bit of a tough first half-hour.”
It would be in the 71st minute that Paul Pogba would find the game decided, with the Red Devils’ manager saying the France star is finding his best form after a difficult spell earlier in the season.
Solskjaer said, “I’ve always said Paul is a big player for us, he’s a good character in the dressing room, he’s someone the lads look to, he’s a world champion”.
“We’re seeing the best of Paul at the moment – he’s been injured and he’s had Covid so it’s natural to need to get back to fitness after that,” he added.
The 47 year old Norwegian said that he is looking forward to Sunday’s table-topping clash against Liverpool which will take place on 17th January at 10:00 PM at Anfield.
Liverpool are three points behind his side in second place.
Solskjaer said, “Of course we know we’re going to the champions. They’ve had an unbelievable three seasons so we’re ready for it,” and added “But we’re ready and we’re excited, we’re hungry for it and it’s a test of character and quality again. We’re in a good position going into it.”
